The Rise and Fall of History II: Opposing the Present
by Medigo
Summary: The world of dueling has reached its climax. Many stories have been told through these cards, and the final story brought everyone together. People are united and yet, an unknown world suffers in their shadow. The fallen one returns in the midst of their peace, pursued and still a stranger to those around. There is not much time to save both his home and his friends.
1. Recap

(As usual I moreso recommend people to simply read part I, and I doubt anyone is going to stumble into part 2 blindly.

But these summaries serve also a reminder rather than a warning or a recap for people with little time, so without further ado)

 **THE STORY SO FAR**

One morning a young duelist arrives in a small town, with no memories of his former life or any idea of how he got there. All he has with him are two dueldisks, cards and a crystal attached to a necklace. All he remembers is a name that might not be his own; Uno. In the town he meets other duelists like the sisters Alice and Emily Brandt, and their neighbor Eric Stonewell. They want to genuinely help him recover his memories, but also come to find out that he possesses cards and powers they've never seen before; the performapals, odd-eyes dragon and the pendulum monsters. His power also draws the attention of Dreamworld, the current card supplier of this world. Its master sends two disciples to investigate; Zach Creffield and Iria Silver. At first they try to detain him for using cards that were not yet released on the market'. Eventually they clear him of charges, but they continuously keep an eye on him and his friends. They also tell him that their master already knows a man named Dom, and that Uno has to prove himself at an upcoming tournament before he can meet their master.

With this new information, Uno and his friends decide to enter the tournament. Along the way though they encounter the guilds; three separate clubs of duelists who each specialize in one brand of extra deck monsters. Cassius, a former friend of Emily and Alice, is the leader of the synchro guild and he welcomes them openly. But when Dreamworld releases information of pendulum monsters to the public, other guilds also begin to show interest in Uno. While Uno does not gain the favor of the XYZ-guild's leader and previous tournament champion; Adamant. He does defeat duelists from the synchro and fusion guild. Yet, with Alice's help, they manage to form their own independent guild for the tournament. Meanwhile Emily joins the synchro guild. Eric secretly enters the fusion guild as a spy for Dreamworld, to help them fight counterfeiters and mysterious duelists who might or might not be affiliated with one of the guilds. One such duelist, June, attacks the synchro guild with fusion monsters. A synchro duelist, August, also attacks Dreamworld and its master, Dom. In both cases the attackers are driven off and escape miraculously.

Ultimately, the tournament begins. Zach gets beaten in round one by the leader of the Fusion Guild, Dame Phoebe. Emily, Eric, Alice all make it to the next round with their guild-enhanced decks. Uno also makes it to round two, and after he defeats Iria Silver herself, he earns himself a meeting with Master Dom. But he does not know who Uno is. Only that he and UNO are not the same man, and that UNO is the true creator of the dueling game; the writer of the stories that the cards were drawn from. In the mean time, Emily is eliminated by Eric. And Cassius is thrown out of the tournament due to an accident with no known causes. Then, in the third round, Uno encounters the third member of the unaffiliated duelists; January. He reveals that he possesses a crystal like Uno; called a pendulum. After a fierce duel, which drives Uno berserk and pits him up against the tournament host Dom himself, he is pushed through dimensions and sent into another world by his own pendulum. A world that he realizes is his true home, another timeline that exists alongside the first.

Before he manages to return to his friends, Alice faces Adamant in the fourth round of the tournament. Despite all odds, Alice manages to come out on top and bests the former champion. Unfortunately this drives the XYZ-guild to break the rules and take over the tournament with all their duelists. The XYZ-guild wants to break into the digitial vaults of Dreamworld, where Dom has hidden data of the most powerful cards. But Dom preemptively encrypted the data and hid the decryption key card in three cards; fusion, synchro and xyz dragon counterparts to Uno's Odd-Eyes dragon. The disciples, Uno and friends manage to sneak out of the tournament with the three cards. However Eric betrays everyone and steals the fusion dragon to give it to Dame Phoebe. It is now that the unaffiliated duelists return with their leader; December. Together they end the fights at the tournament, get the information they want from Dom and almost take Uno away for being a pendulum user and a timetraveler like them. Uno's friends step in and temporarily they push the four duelists back.

Throughout these adventures, Uno ran into three strange entities; the sisters of Prophecy. Cloe, Veronica and Margot. They answer three questions each time, seemingly knowing all about the past, present and future. They also help him develop his powers of the pendulum and of the dragons. Making him realize that the cards possess a spirit too. They were once alive, and there were worlds before the current one.. in which they lived.

Adamant, desperate to regain power in his own guild, leads an attack on Dreamworld where the two remaining cards are now. Cassius defeats Adamant with his new synchro dragon, and captures him. Everyone relocates to the synchro guilds headquarters. Zach and Uno secure a virtual meeting with the real UNO to acquire a card printer, which will let them create new pendulum cards. The duelists also get Eric back on their side, who turns out to have been brainwashed by Martel, a secret member of the fusion guild. In the mean time a captive Adamant reveals his motives to Alice, the only duelist he can respect. The XYZ-guild feared an invasion from the other world they had already discovered, and he believed one of the other guilds was allied with that world. In the end Adamant abandons his guild to join Uno. The former second in command, Ichirou, takes over and steals the XYZ-dragon from Uno.

That guild turns out be to the synchro guild. Cassius and several other duelists form their own secret organization; The Circle. Their founder, Vesper, discovered a way to link one mind with the mind of its alternate self in the other timeline. Through linking minds, The Circle has infiltrated both worlds. Their eventual goal is to synchronize all minds of all counterparts, to avoid the great disaster. They believe that one timeline will inevitably be destroyed by the other, and this is the only way they can save as many people as possible. Before they can bring Uno and friends into this, Doms quick thinking gets them out and they manage to alert the guilds to the presence of The Circle. Emily is forced to stay behind to keep Cassius from pursuing them, and she is captured after Cassius defeats her. But the Fusion and XYZ-guild soon overwhelm the synchro guild. Cassius, Dame Phoebe and Ichirou duel for the rights of the Fusion, Synchro and XYZ Dragons. Dame Phoebe ultimately wins the threeway duel and claims all dragon cards for herself, thus absorbing both Dreamworld and all other guilds into the fusion guild.

Uno and his friends barely manage to get away. Zach was taken down by Martel, Dom was banished to the other world by Vesper. Through other revelations, they come to find out that not only was Alice adopted into the Brandt family, but she was also a timetraveler like Uno. She accidentally fell into the current world after her previous world was destroyed by the guardians of time; the spirits who clean up dimensions that cease to exist after its pendulums abandon it. Now back where he started, Uno is confronted again by December and the other Calendar duelists. They want both him and Alice to disconnect from the present world, where they should not exist. But Uno refuses and duels December once more. He learns that December and the others lost their worlds too, to the original timetraveler...Tempus. And they have been chasing Tempus throughout timelines for an eternity. In the end, Uno is forced to draw with December. The resulting explosion scatters everyone and pushes Uno, Iria, Alice, Eric and Adamant into the other timeline; his homeworld. And that is where they are now..


	2. So far so

**Redux 089: So Far so...**

 _The fates are decided by the soul rather than the flesh. Spirits once roamed the lands to create misfortune and fortune alike, coming in many shapes and sizes. Now m_ _an has tamed them to guide them, to fight for them, to shape the world for them. The strongest of these spirits have come to_ _represent the duality of the world, the branches that all free minds can undertake. But there is only one who can follow the perfect path, who would be victorious in every challenge and honor the spirits at all times. Only a warrior such as he shall inherit the ultimate spirit and, together, become the decider of the final fate of the world. For there will come a time when a choice must be made, when the world will be torn asunder and two equal halves must duel each other. Only the inheritor will end this conflict, that began before the dawn of time._

So went the prophecy according to its fervent believer Adamant. This was written down in stone, in several languages, on tablets from across the globe. This was what Adamant served to the uninitiated; the elite of the XYZ-guild in the past and now.. his new 'traveling group' of the present. "If you have questions, ask them." Despite their current surroundings, he treated this situation much like the other. It usually was a difficult concept to swallow. "Is that why.. you wanted to win so much? Because only the perfect duelist can get such power?" It cleared up a lot of things, which the young Alice appreciated. "Heh. Like there's anybody left to even fill those shoes." There was also the strongheaded Eric, who doubted the story for the simple reason that every duelists had to lose one day. But his apprehensions paled in comparison to Iria's. "..." The disciple had opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but reconsidered for the time being. She did not embrace this lunacy. Only one really did. "Well... it makes sense." Uno was the one who'd seen it all, he knew for a fact that the world was a magical place. Just one of many.

"But how did your guild know about all that?" There was a reason he asked of course. This was no longer their world, not for most of them. Less than twenty years ago, there was an time-splitting event of unknown cause. Two worlds were created as a result of a divergence and these five were stuck on this side now; this silent world with bright cities on the horizon. "As I said before, we have contacts in the army and government. They were the ones who discovered the other world, and the tablets with these prophecies. The connection was there in the words. The connection to 'dueling' was there in the images. Hundreds of stone pictures were found, who resembled the monsters from the game." Adamant replied. "The better question is, where do we need to know where to go? Who do we avoid or seek. I assume your guild had done its research in those areas." Iria did not need to remind everyone that Adamant's guild was the one who planned to invade this new world. ""But from what I hear.. our endgoal should be to find Tempus." According to Uno and December, one man was responsible for all this mess. "To start with, we will need to get into this world's network." He raised his dueldisk; a weapon that no duelists would go without. "All data my guild attained so far, can be accessed from an online point."

"Uh.. I don't want to complain but.. " Alice's voice piped in timidly. "Can we also get some food? I'm sorta hungry." The night that led them up to this point had been quite active, making meals an easy thing to overlook. "Good point. Hey.. wasn't there an apple tree around here? You showed me that once." Uno could hear his own stomach growl, and a nice red apple would hit just the spot. "I thought so too but..." The girl pointed in the distance. At the edge of the mountain rocks stood a lonely dead tree. "Oh." It seemed the new world wanted to make absolutely sure that they did not mistake this for their home. "But there's that nice fish restaurant down the road. Maybe we could go there?" While Alice's hometown had been erased from the map, the road stayed intact. It was nice to have something to hold onto. "What if we can't pay!? I bet they have some weird bizarro-coins on this side!? Man, this is all so.. messed up." Eric wanted anything familiar at all to keep himself sane. "I'm sure we can get back. I'm sure." Meanwhile this was not the first time Alice experienced a journey like this. Though she did not want to talk about that very much.

"There's no need to worry about currency. I already scanned the area and found no such facilities." Adamant stated with his eyes drawn to the screen on the dueldisk. "Did you locate anything else?" Iria inquired with moderate impatience. "A single building shows up on the network here, next to the road in that direction." He pointed to the west, where all the bright cities were. "I suggest we make that place a resting point, before we head on..." He made sure the others could see the screen too. It showed a map of the entire country, with most cities still carrying the same name. "All the way there? Guh, that's such a long way down." Eric hadn't even moved one foot yet and he already felt tired. "Can't we just fly down there, on one of your solid holograms or something?" Alice suggested, as Adamant's disk was fully capable of creating physical objects to interact with; up to and including flying birdmachines. "I think we should avoid standing out for now." Uno said as he looked up at the sky with uncertainty. Something told him that those flying grey dots in the sky were watching them. "I concur. We will walk." Iria decided.

And they did, they traversed the road for a couple of miles until they reached their destination. "Oh yeah, I remember this. Some old guy used to live here." The band of five stood in front of a stone-white house that looked more like a resort than anything. "So what's the plan? How do we get in?" The front gate was well-secured and cameras covered every corner. "We could easily dismantle the security system with our tools." Iria pondered out loud while she rested a finger on her chin. "We can break in if we need to. We are on a time limit." Adamant was already thinking one step further, and felt justified in doing so. "No! No breaking, no hacking! We can't just go around smashing other people's stuff!" Alice admonished them both for even considering it. "'But we don't know who is in there." Adamant countered. "I have to take her side on this, Adamant. I don't know what you were told, but I'm positive not everyone in this world is an enemy. This is my home we're talking about.." Uno tugged at his collar and confidently walked towards the gate. "Leave it to me."

"Excuse me!" He shouted as soon as he got within two feet of the walls. "I know you can see me, and probably hear me!" The cameras geared towards him. "I'd just like to ask if me and my friends can spare a few hours of your time? We've had some car trouble and.." Uno had an entire story planned, made up on the fly. The intro must've worked really well, because the gate opened right away. "Hmm. That was... easy." He turned to Iria and gave her a thumbs up. "He got in?" Cautiously she and the others followed Uno inside. "Never thought I'd see this side." Eric said to himself as he took it all in. There was a pool, a flower garden, an outdoor dining table, a friendly-looking man. "Ah!" Eric recoiled in fright. This was definitely a somewhat old guy. _"Guess the older you are, the less you change in another timeline."_

"Ah greetings duelists. What can I do for you?" The man treated them kindly enough. "Duelists? You let us in because we're.." Uno remembered he still had his own dueldisk with him. The man clearly noticed that. "Duelists, yes! Why wouldn't I? Any duelists is welcome here." The man responded as if it was the most natural thing to say. "Ah yeah.. of course! Well, anyway.. as I was saying. Our car broke down some miles up the road and we need a place to rest at before emergency services arrive. We've been going all night and some of us are pretty exhausted." He finished the story with some lies and some truths. The walk did take a lot out of them. "Of course! My house is your house! There are plenty of couches available! And if you are peckish, help yourself to the fruit and nut bowl." He stepped aside and showed them the way in. "Is there a connection point somewhere?" Iria's eyes she scanned the living room. "Connection? Oh. You need the network? I understand. There is one in the study." Iria then shared a look with Adamant and he nodded back. "Uno. We will go to secure the information we need." He stated as the two went ahead.

"Uno eh? That's a wonderful name. I am afraid you will have to simply call me Walter." The man remarked with a smile. "Oh. I'm so sorry!" Alice yelled as she hurriedly finished eating her apple. "We didn't tell you who we are! I'm Alice, and this is Eric. And those two in there are.." Before she could give the remaining names, a long yawn escaped her mouth. "Oh my. Do you need a rest, little lady?" Walter chuckled. "What? No..Imnot.. tired..." She protested, despite her body insisting the opposite. "Alice. It's fine. I am sure you can take a quick nap here." Uno checked with Walter and the old man offered no objections. "But I amnot.. I don't want to.. What if I sleep..and then I wake up, you wont be there anymore?" She said softly, trying as hard as she could to stay awake. "Alice. Hey.. I am not going anywhere. I will be here, where you last saw me. Okay? This is my world, it's safe in here." Uno held her hand gently and did not let go until she looked away. "O..kay.." She sighed and turned around. "You can use my spare bed. I have no need for it anyway." Walter said. "Thank..you." She replied and left the room.

It was just Walter, Uno and Eric now. "How about you Eric?" Uno figured Stonewell had to be pretty tired too. Uno was the only one who had caught some ZZZs recently. "Bah, I can tough it out." Eric swore. "Uh-huh. I trust you buddy... Walter. I gotta say, you're making me feel bad with all this hospitality. I don't know how to thank you." Uno was not sure what he expected from his homeworld. He liked what he saw so far. "Nothing of it. I hardly get any visitors, certainly not duelists. I take it you are on your way to the big city?" He asked out of nowhere, which got Uno's attention. "Where else? I wanted to show my new friends the sights." He definitely wanted to hear more about this 'city'. "Ho-ho. Don't I know it. Those lights are always on; the sky sometimes purple, red or green." Walter smirked at Eric. "You're in for a treat, son. Many duelists test their luck there, there's not a deck you wont find there; Pendulums, fusions, XYZ, synchro. They have them all."

"Uh.. you know about that kind of stuff?" Eric was midly surprised. "Ho-hum. Just a little. My son used to be a duelist, and I played a few matches with him myself. Hrm.." Walter looked around the place. "There it is. I knew I kept my cards close by." He picked up a deck of cards from a small box on top of a fireplace mantel. "Say, Uno. These days are getting so dreadfully long and dull, and you are kept waiting by outside forces anyway. What do you say to a quick match? I'd just like to see what you are made off." He placed his deck on top of a table. "Oh. Well.. I can't say no to that." After everything he had given them, Uno could repay him a little this way. "You are on, Walter. Eric, you keep the score." Uno sat down on the floor on the opposite side and took out his cards. "Huh? You're not gonna use disks? Well okay." Eric wished he had something to look at. At least he could keep track of their lifepoints with his dueldisk.

Uno's LP: 8000 Walter's LP: 8000

The two drew their cards, Uno allowed Walter to lead. "Hmmm. I think..I will start with this one." The man placed one monster in a face-down defensive position. "That should do it! Now it's your turn Uno." Walter waited with folded arms. "Okay then! I summon Performapal Whip Viper and attack!" Uno placed his first card on the field, the purple hat-wearing snake(4/1700/100). Admittedly he was not used to dueling without holograms, but it felt enjoying. And if he closed his eyes, he could still see the monsters before him. "Performapals? Can't say I heard of that type of monster." Walter sniffed as he flipped the attacked card. "Perhaps you heard of mine? Hydrotortoise the Empowered Warrior." The snake's victim was a redhaired summoner witch(4/1600/1300). "When this card is destroyed by battle: I can Summon a Warrior with 1500 or less ATK from my Deck in Attack mode." Walter explained the effect of his destroyed monster, as he slowly searched his deck for a new card. "I pick Hydrotortoise the Empowered Warrior." He placed down a serpentine warrior(3/1400/900) in green body-armor who had one golden wing and a golden claw. "Well, I dont see those often. I can give you that." Uno said and ended his turn.

"I've never seen them." Eric added.

"Ho-ho. You really will enjoy the city." Walter laughed again. "Now watch this. It's time for a spell card!" Walter switched Hydrotortoise to defense mode and activated a continuous spell. "Take note son. This is Empowerment. All dragons, magicians and warriors gain 300 points while this card is active. And that's good for me, because all my monsters are from those types." He exposited, while Erics disk acknowledged the boost to the Hydrotortoise warrior(1700/1200). "Also, once a turn I can discard one card to summon one Empowered Warrior from my deck!" A normal monster was discarded from his hand, and another golden-winged and 'Empowered' warrior(5/2300/1100) appeared. This one was armored in blue and modeled after a dragon. "Now here we have Ventdra the Empowered Warrior, who can attack directly. I think you know what this means, Uno. He will attack you!" He motioned his cards towards his opponent directly. "Then I will have to use Whip Snake's effect!" Uno tapped his Performapal card and Ventdra(4/1100/2300) at the same time. "Now your monsters attackpoints are switched with his defense points, so I only take 1100 points of damage!" Uno proclaimed. "A hit is a hit." Walter was satisfied for now. He placed a monster down and passed the turn to Uno. "He's got you there Uno." Eric chuckled.

Uno's LP: 6900

"Yes indeed. Looks like I gotta step it up." Uno tapped his Whip Snake again to make sure that Ventdra's attackpoints were switched with its defense points in his turn as well. "By summoning two of my pals!" He placed two cards on the table. The normal summon of the turn was the silver-furred wolf Performapal Silver Claw(4/1800/700). "By tributing a non-pendulum Performapal, I can special summon Performapal Sleight Hand Magician from my hand!" The snake was taken away and replaced with a jester(7/2500/2000) in red. On his face was a mask and a feathered crown. His lower body consisted of a crystal and two angel wings. "Sleight Hand's effect is this; by discarding a card from my hand, he can destroy one of your face-up cards!" Uno discarded a Performapal ThunderRhino card and selected the Hydrotortoise as the elimination target.

Walter wistfully removed the green Empowered Warrior from his field. "Oh. Oh my.. is that a pendulum monster?" Yet he seemed more enthralled with Uno's silver beast. "Silver Claw? Yes it is." Uno tried to play it cool. He didn't want to give away how confused he was by Walters awe. "You will have to forgive me. Pendulum cards are not something you get to duel against every day. I only have a few myself. You must be something special." Walter spoke with a pensive look in his eyes. "I must be.." Uno wouldn't know about that. But this duel was a good way to probe the man for information, in a friendly way. "Maybe I can just show you!" Uno took his dueldisk and switched every card into the device. "Oh we're doing disks now? Okay then." Eric gave his to the old man. "Why, thank you. Now let me see." Walter did the same with his cards. Holograms of his Empowered Warriors and Uno's Performapals showed up. "I'll start my Battle phase!" Sleight Hand Magician made the first attack. With a blast from its wand it blew Ventdra to smithereens.

Walters LP: 6600

"That does make a world of difference." Walter said. "Ah but.. . Now with Ventdra sent from the field to the graveyard, I can take a normal monster from the grave." Walter used Ventdra's other effect to reclaim his discarded monster. "You adjust quickly.. Well I didn't want to rob you of some nice visuals. Now Silver Claw attacks! When he strikes, he adds 300 attackpoints to all my Performapals!" The wolf(2100/700)'s claws sank into Walters hidden warrior(3/700/1800). "Oh that's unfortunate." Walter flashed a wide grin as his flip effect monster was revealed. "You activated Green Turtle Summoner. Now he destroys one of your monsters." A mage in green turtle armor, looking even older than Walter, jumped towards Uno's side of the field. With its helmet it rammed straight into Sleight Hand Magician and destroyed the Performapal. The summoner fell to destruction afterwards. "You can say that again." Uno snapped his fingers. "Your move."

"Well now. What I can do is.. return the favor." Walter drew his card, another normal monster, and discarded it to re-activate Empowerment. "But first there's Empowered Warrior Arnis." The spell special summoned a knight(4/2000/1500) in vermillion armor, who flew on rapidly fluttering bird-wings. "And there's the White Tiger Summoner." A white-haired mage brawler(3/1300/2000) in black uniform materialized besides the Arnis. This one clenched its fist and roared, energizing itself(1400/2000) and the vermillion Warrior(2100/1500). "White Tiger Summoner gives all my monsters 100 attackpoints. Though that's not as exciting as its first power. When I normal summon it, I can also summon a Normal monster from my hand!" Walter took this chance to special summon the card he had reclaimed last turn. "Show yourself, my pendulum monster! I summon Flash Knight!" 'Flash' was right; this new blonde knight(4/2200/900) had a bright yellow cape and glowing golden armor. "Pendulums eh? That's a good look for yours." Uno could see the spell-side of this new card; however it had neither monster nor spell effect.

"Ho. Thank you. Now let's have our cards fight." Flash Knight stabbed Silver Claw with his sword. "Ah not so fast! I can banish ThunderRhino from my graveyard to negate my Performapals destruction!" A blast of thunder deflected the sword away. Though Uno still took battle damage "Is that so. Then.." Walter made Arnis attack next, and a fireblast finally destroyed Silver Claw. After that a direct attack from White Tiger Summoner hit Uno. "Heheh. You might give me a run for my money yet! I don't know about you Walter. But I think it's time to take it to the next level! I think it's time for.. a Pendulum summon!"

Uno's LP: 4800

...

Not to far away, but high above, unseen signals moved through the aether. There was a stir, the drone closest to the mountain range began to move.. heading down quickly.

(To be Continued in Redux 088: Second Chance at First Impressions)

 **New Cards used by Uno  
** Performapal Sleight Hand Magician

 **Cards used by Walter  
** Red Sparrow Summoner  
Hydrotortoise, the Empowered Warrior  
Ventdra, the Empowered Warrior  
Green Turtle Summoner  
Arnis, the Empowered Warrior  
White Tiger Summoner  
Flash Knight

-  
Empowerment


	3. Second Chance at First Impressions

**Redux 088:** **Second Chance at First Impressions**

"Are they actually dueling?" Iria couldn't believe what she was hearing and seeing. They hadn't been here for more than ten minutes. And while they were inside the study trying to get crucial data from the net, Uno was drawn into a duel with their host. "Duels matter to these people, perhaps even moreso than to the people of our world." Adamant was not surprised. "Is this because they would have had the same _prophecy_?" Iria asked him, with a clear harshness to her words. "You are still a doubter. Is it truly that hard to include the forces of destiny, with all that you have witnessed?" It would take an iron will for anyone in their position to not believe in the magical. "It's not the subject matter that makes me question the story. It's the voice. We may be forced to work together for now, but that does not mean I can trust you.. Adamant." She would not forget how he seemingly betrayed them before, all for a ruse that he did not warn anyone about in advance. And then there was a whole grocery list of dubious acts that he performed in the name of his XYZ-guild.

"I often get that kind of resistance. People do not see me as a man who would listen to prophecies and gods. Regardless, we can both at least agree that neither of us wants our world to be in danger. Yes?" No matter what they or any other guild believed, their world was clearly in danger. With Walter distracted, he felt he could discuss such things openly. "That would be like agreeing that the world is round. Tch.. how much longer will it take to get what you want?" Adamant had been sitting behind the computer for half an hour now. She was getting anxious. "I cannot say. When our guild first crossed into this dimension, we left a few men behind to gather resources. I can't seem to get in contact with them now, yet their accounts are still accessible to me. I've transferred Credits and data, I just want to make one last attempt at communication." He resumed typing. "I need to be careful not to reveal my presence on their network. Trust me on this, I do not want to be here any longer than we need to." Adamant shared her feelings of discomfort. "That I can agree with." Iria glared at the living room once more. That duel had better not take too long.

...

Uno's LP: 4800 Walters LP: 6600

"Off we go!" Uno waved his hand across his field, placing two cards down on either side. "I've set my scales, Performapal SelshellCrab and Dragon Pulse Magician!" His two pendulum monsters took their place in the pendulum zones; a hermit crab in a green egg-covered shell (scale 2) and a red-braided magician (scale 1) in the other. "Oho. Aren't you mixing up your scales?" Walter noted that the higher scale was placed before the lower scale mage. Uno could not Uno pendulum summon anything with those scales anyway. "You might think that. Wait til you see.." Uno placed a field spell down. "Sky Iris! This spell can destroy one of my cards each turn, to bring in a new Odd-Eyes card! I will destroy Dragon Pulse Magician." An eye-shaped portal of light opened up above Uno. It sucked in Dragon Pulse Magician, sending the destroyed pendulum monster to the extra deck. "I add Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn and set it down where my Magician used to be!" A green unicorn took the red zone. Its scale of 8 suited the field far better. "Now..I will pendulum summon my monsters, two from my extra deck and one from my hand!"

Three energy blasts flew down between the pillars of red and blue light; they materialized as Performapal Silver Claw(4/1800/700), Dragon Pulse Magician(4/1800/900) and a dapper purple lizard(4/1600/1200) with a mechanical visor on its snout. "This is Performapal Bot-Eyes Lizard! He can take the name of one Odd-Eyes monster in my deck each turn!" The Lizard discarded the original Odd-Eyes Dragon from the deck, and assumed its full name. Odd-Eyes Dragon was a card Uno almost forgot. But thanks to the cardmaker, Dom, he had another copy of it. "Ah there we are." Walter beamed with delight as he saw all these creatures. "Yes. And I am going to go all out, Walter." Uno entered the battle phase. "Oh please. Do not hold back on my behalf." The man chuckled. "The thought didn't cross my mind! Dragon Pulse, destroy White Tiger Summoner!" The dragon magician used her double-sided blade to cut down the white-haired spellcaster(3/1400/2000). With the Summoner no longer on the field, Walters monsters like Flash Knight(2100/900) and Arnis the Empowered Warrior(4/2000/1500) lost their 100-attackpoint boost.

Walters LP: 6200

"Two to go! Silver Claw, you're up next!" The attacking wolf used its effect to add 300 attackpoints to itself(4/2100/700) and other Performapals for this battle phase. The vermillion warrior fell prey to its shining claws. "Very nice! But when Arnis is is destroyed by an attacking monster: I can summon one Spellcaster with 1500 or less ATK from my deck! I choose the Golden Dragon Summoner." The old man special summoned a pale wizard(3/1000/1000) in gold and black. It(1300/1300) immediately gained new attackpoints from Walters Empowerment spell. "I see. Well I saved the best for last.. I am talking of course... about my Odd-Eyesified Lizard!" Bot-Eyes(4/1900/1200) fired away with a blast shaped like a dragon. "The spell effect of Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn can give the original attackpoints of another Performapal on the field to an Odd-Eyes monster that attacks!" The power of Silver Claw was transferred from the beast to the lizard(3700/1200); doubling the size of its fireblast. The flames surrounded and consumed Flash Knight with haste.

Walters LP: 4500

"Hm-hmm. Going for the big hitter eh." Walter coughed. This virtual smoke was just as exasperating as the real thing. "Yeah well. Gotta have some flash with the substance." Uno was out of cards to use, so he ended his turn. "That is true, but.. I remember when dueling used to be simpler. I could keep up with my son in those days. Do you kids know what it was like, before they created the pendulum cards?" The man asked, getting nostalgic rather suddenly. "Of course.." Uno replied quickly, though he was hoping Walter would continue anyway. "Ehr.. I don't." Eric apparently picked up on Uno's appetite for information. "Ah.. I don't even know if you can imagine it. How old are you?" He asked. "Almost seventeen." Eric swore. "Old enough to not even have experienced it. It was a quieter time back then, for more than just duelists. Borders existed and games could still be games. Then the Union came, and joined the lands." Walter moaned. "Joined?" Eric remembered enough of topography class to know that this did not fit. "The course of history.. was altered." Uno muttered. But who could have done such a thing? Or rather, was this the 'normal' path for history to take?

"But enough daydreaming from an old man. I bet you're itching to move on, so I shall be quick about it." Walter cracked his knuckles and drew the next card from his deck. "Terratiger the Empowered Warrior is what I will summon this turn." He discarded another normal monster to activate Empowerment. The continuous spell special summoned an 'empowered' Empowered Warrior(4/2100/1500) in armor that had the colors and appearance of a white tiger. "And.. I will take back the monsters I threw away." Walter activate the spell, Dark Factory of Mass Reproduction. With it he could recycle two normal monsters from the graveyard. "Dragong, Mandragon." The two monsters he added to his hand were Pendulum monsters. "!?" Uno watched as Walter placed them in the pendulum zones of Erics dueldisk; a dragonshaped Mandolin cursed by Mandragora roots (scale 7) and a metallic green dragon with a Gong on its belly (scale 2). They had no effects at all, not even as spells. "Yes..I know how to pendulum summon too, Uno."

"But first." Walter raised a finger. "I will use the final ability of my spell. Empowerment banishes four warrior or spellcasters from the graveyard to add an Aether monster to my hand." Walter removed three summoners (Red Sparrow, White Tiger, Green Turtle) along with Hydrotortoise the Empowered Warrior. The card Walter took from the deck was called Aether the Empowering Dragon. "Now I'll pendulum summon too; Aether and Flash Knight!" The golden knight(4/2100/900) returned from the extra deck, and with it came a golden scaled dragon(6/2600/1600). "I am affraid my pendulum summoned Empowering Dragon returns one card to a player hand!" Aether unleashed a burst of bright lightrays and enveloped Dragon Pulse Magician. When Uno could see again, the card was back in his hand. "Oh and Golden Dragon Summoner can tribute one monster to return another monster! Hoho!" The Golden mage sacrificed himself and targeted Performapal Silver Claw. Uno had to put that monster back in his hand as well. "That is how I do it.. Attack now!" Terratiger made the first blow, tearing Bot-Eyes Lizard up with his talons.

Uno's LP: 4300

And now, with his field empty of monsters and two big threats still closing in, Uno found his thoughts slow to a crawl. The moment was brief, but powerful. "!" One second later he snapped back to reality. "I can activate Performapal Sellshellcrab's effect! With my Performapal defeated in battle, the crab will summon a new Performapal or Odd-Eyes from my pendulum zone!" Uno took the Hermit crab and special summoned it(5/500/2500) in defense mode. "I choose this guy!" Its defense was too much for Flash Knight, so Aether would have to attack it. The golden dragon roared and flew towards the Hermit Crab, who flinched and hid inside its shell-home. One swipe with the tail smashed the Performapal to pieces; shell and all. "Thank goodness. For a second there I was worried that you were forgetting your own cards." Walter took it with stride and ordered Flash Knight to make a direct attack, nearly halving Uno's lifepoints with one sword-swing. "No such bad luck, Walter." Sellshell Crab had saved him from losing all his lifepoints at least.

Uno's LP: 2200

But that was what Uno had wanted, at first. This guy was so nice to him that he considered letting Walter win. That was why he went easy on him in the last turn.. So what changed his mind? _"He wouldn't have fallen for it anyway. But why didn't I want to lose? Is it something to do with.. this world?"_ If only he could remember. "I wouldn't mind losing, I am just an old man after all." Walter spoke like he read his mind. Whatever he saw, he passed the turn back to Uno. "Hmm." Uno drew Performapal Turn Toad. He normal summoned the green toad(2/0/800) wordlessly, and destroyed it to re-activate Sky Iris. This turn Sky Iris added the true Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon to Uno's hand. "Uno, is something wrong?" Eric could tell that the duelist had his mind elsewhere, since he was so quiet. "I was just wondering.. What would be so bad about losing?"

"Uno, Eric." At that point Adamant came into the room, with a visibly impatient Iria behind him. "It's time to go... Where is Alice?" He inquired as calmly as was possible. "Oh. She's sleeping. Should I get her? I'll go get her." Eric rushed out of the living room. "So soon? Uh.. did the emergency services arrive already?" Uno 'asked' as he followed their gaze. The two kept staring at the windows. "I am afraid so. You have to quit the duel." Iria managed to play along, but she sounded very insistent. "What's the hurry? Surely you have a few minutes to wrap things up here." Walter likely noticed the shifting mood. That did not stop him from acting like his usual self. "I do not think you could end before then anyway." He added somberly. "What is that supposed to mean?" Iria let out a hiss. "Oh. I think I know." Uno checked his own dueldisk. "I have to finish the duel." The device refused to disconnect, it only accepted a surrender. "A fight here is a fight to the end." Adamant muttered to himself. Somehow those words rang familiar to Uno.

"Still, I gotta cut this short Walter. Sorry. Best I can do is.. giving you an amazing finale!" Uno placed Dragon Pulse Magician in the blue pendulum zone, pairing its scale with Odd-Eyes Unicorns. "Pendulum summon!" Between the two scales Uno could special summon the Performapals Turn Toad and Sellshell Crab from his extra deck along with Silver Claw and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon(7/2500/2000) from his hand. "I activate the monster effect of Sell Shell Crab this time! For each Performapal monster on my field, it makes 300 attackpoints and gives them all to one pendulum monster!" Thanks to his three performers, Pendulum Dragon(3400/2000) gained three attackboosts. "And here it is, my final attack! Odd-Eyes Dragon targets Aether the Empowering Dragon!" Uno's great red monster stomped across the room. "And I will use Odd-Eyes Unicorn again as he goes!" With the Unicorns spell-effect, Performapal Silver Claws attackpoints were added to the attacking Odd-Eyes(5200/2000). With one strong push, it crushed the golden Aether. "Any battle damage Odd-Eyes Pendulumn Dragon inflicts, is doubled!" With that single blow, Uno delivered 5200 points of battle damage to his opponent. Walter had run out.

Walters LP: 0

"That was quite the sight for these eyes." Walter put on his best smile, and deactivated his dueldisk and placed it on the table. "I can see that I never really stood a chance, not with my outdated pendulums. Tell me, where did you even get such wondrous things? The name Odd-Eyes rings somewhat familiar." He kept his eyes on the dragon even as its hologram de-materialized. "He's stalling.." Iria muttered under her breath. "Huh? What's that?" Walters hearing was not that bad apparently. "You know what you are doing. We need to go now, Uno!" Iria turned a bit more hostile as she moved towards the front door. "Is something the matter? Please, tell me. I do not know what is going on." Walter still pleaded ignorance. "Ehgh. I think you're telling the truth about that. But when she says something, she usually means it. I had fun Walter, but this is probably goodbye." Adamant and Iria were both standing near the windows now., Uno wished he knew what was getting these two so rattled. "We are too late." Whatever it was, Adamant could identity it with his own eyes now. _It_ was outside.

"Ah!" It was one of those grey dots from the sky, one of the drones. It hovered above the house, not even ten feet away. "This is what I was afraid of." Adamant's disk had picked up an incoming energy source. This was its owner.

"A Templar? Here?" The sight of this object was enough to break Walters composure. One look and he staggered back. "Templar? That's what it's called?" Uno let the question out before he knew it. It looked familiar, yet he had no idea what it was supposed to do or why it would be here. "You..you don't know?! How couldn't you?" Walter stared in disbelief at the duelists. "Did you call this here?" Iria inquired again. "He couldn't have, right?" Uno immediately defended him. He had been with Walter all this time. "It can't be here for me.. I did nothing. Then.. it's here for you? No.. I am sorry. I didn't know. You have to.. run. We have to.." The old man was still too numbed with fear to properly respond to their confusion. "The Templars. A series of all-terrain defensive drones that come equipped with a highly advanced dueling patterns, drawn from real dueling records. They secure the Union in every region." Fortunately Adamant was on hand with the necessary exposition, thanks to the data he had collected from the network. "Dueling..machines?" To Iria the idea sounded almost.. logical.

"Uno, wait!" Adamant tried to stop Uno, but he was running on impulses now. "I will take care of this!" Uno rushed out the front door and confronted the drone. Up close he could tell it looked like a bigger sharper dueldisk. A dueldisk that could move by itself. "Hey! I don't know why you came here, but if you came for me. Here I am! You can leave everyone else be!" The last thing he wanted was to cause trouble for someone as nice as Walter. **"TEMPLAR SERIES M CODE 31178282 REPORTING. INVESTIGATING A DISRUPTION. THE SOURCE LOCATED."** The Templar did not seem to be the conversational type, in spite of its loud synthesized voice. It only regarded Uno with a quick scan. " **UNKNOWN DISK SYSTEMS LOCATED."** Then it proceeded to scan the rest of the house. _"It wasn't sent here. It came on its own. Damn it. Did I mess up with that duel? I thought it would be safe if I stayed offline. Damn, damn."_ He felt like kicking himself. This was his own world and he still was utterly new to everyone and everything going on. He should have anticipated this, he should have seen this coming.

"Out of the way, Uno!" Now Iria and Adamant barged out of the building. Iria had her dueldisk out and used that to create a barrier around the drone. "This should.." It quickly dawned on her that the Templar would not let itself be contained. **"CONTAINMENT FIELD DETECTED. RESPONDING."** It only required one scan and one burst of electricity to break through. "My turn." Adamant had a better solution. He placed a card on his disk and summoned a Raidraptor Rise Falcon card. It solidified and flew towards the enemy. " **SOLID VISION CONSTRUST DETECTED. RESPONDING."** To counter that, the machine placed a card of its own in a transparent slot on its body. A monster was summoned, a white unicorn with golden manes and a flowing red cape. "A duel monster!" Adamant grunted. The Unicorn challenged the Falcon and destroyed it with a single effective strike. " **DUELISTS PRESENT. SCANNING. ONE IDENTITY FOUND: SILVER. TWO IDENTITIES UNKNOWN."**

"It knows me?" That carried a lot of implications. "But not me?" Uno was astonished, he expected to be recognized here at least by someone. He didn't mind if it was a machine! "They know the name of each duelist registered to the network. It is simply possible you never registered, Uno. More to the point, it does not recognize me. Because I have no counterpart in this timeline." Adamant reshuffled his deck and drew five cards. "Templar! I will be your opponent! You cannot refuse me!" Indeed the machine could not. In a matter of seconds it had prepared its own deck. "Uno. Iria. I know what's in store for us, my guild has seen these before. This thing hunts unknown duelists and will not leave until its defeated. It can fight as many of us as it wants. So.. leave this to me." He took his turn first. "Have you dueled one of these before then?" Iria immediately inquired. "... This.. will be the first time." He answered flatly.

"Duel!"

(To be Continued in Redux 087: Overcast Skies)

 **New Cards used by Uno**  
Performapal SelshellCrab  
Performapal BotEyes Lizard

-  
Sky Iris

 **New Cards used by Walter**  
Golden Dragon Summoner  
Terratiger, the Empowered Warrior  
Mandragon  
Dragong  
Aether, the Empowering Dragon

-  
Dark Factory of Mass Production


	4. Overcast Skies

**Redux 087: Overcast Skies**

While she slept in an unfamiliar world on a strangers bed, at the end of her sleep Alice was welcomed by a a familiar voice. "Alice. Hey Alice. Are you awake? I'm sorry. You gotta wake up." It was Eric, he was here in the room. "Hmm? Eric? Where's Em.." There was a brief moment before reality settled, wherein she imagined she was back in her own room. "Oh..No she's not." But her sister wasn't here. Nor was her family. "That's right. I am..." Everything that she saw before, happened. The dream itself was just darkness. She did travel to another world, again. "Alice? Hey, you okay?" Eric saw her getting up, looking all dazed. "I mean.. you know what I mean.." Things were definitely not all okay, he knew that. "It's fine. It's just the same as always." She let out a deep sigh. It was like this every morning. Whether she had pleasant dreams or terrible nightmares; she was always forced to remember what she did not have anymore. "Did I sleep that long?" Right now though, she had to figure out why Eric was here. "Not really. That's not the problem." One could see the 'problem' just by looking out the window.

"What..is that?" Alice saw the scene unfolding; the Templar machine approached the others and overcame their efforts to contain it. "The Templars. They are here." Her answer came from Walters mouth. "Huh?" The old man stood outside the door, more energized than ever. "I told your friends to run. They didn't listen. You still have a chance." He looked just about ready to leave, he had a suitcase packed and everything. "We can't leave them." Alice protested. "Templar? You mean like those knights from the crusades?" Eric did not see a resemblance. "They're from the Union. If they come after you, then the Union is after you. This whole scene will come under investigation. I.. I can't stay here anymore. I am sorry, I didn't want any of this. Whatever you do, stay or leave. Do not let it see you!" He couldn't bear to wait any longer, Walter fled the room and his home. "Eric. What is going on?" This was very worrying. "Don't know. Can't be good. Looks like Adamant is going to duel the thing." It was probably better to stay inside and watch for now. "Duel? It's a duelist? Why would anyone.. make something like that?"

Adamants LP: 8000 Templar M's LP: 8000

Adamant had the first turn. He used that to normal summon his winged machine; Raidraptor Vanishing Lanius(4/1300/1600). Thanks to its effect, Adamant could special summon another Raidraptor from his hand. He chose Raidraptor Mimicry Lanius(4/1100/1900). The opposing Templar accepted both moves without comment. "Hmph. This kind of enemy suits me just fine." He didn't need to explain any effects to this machine, it likely had every card and ruling in its database already. "XYZ-summon!" Nevertheless Adamant openly declared his next move; overlaying both Raidraptors to summon the Raidraptor - Force Strix(4/100/2000), the mechanical owl, in defense mode. "Tribute Lanius." By detaching one XYZ-Material from his XYZ-monster, Mimicry Lanius, Force Strix could search his deck for a Raidraptor monster and add it to his hand. "Return." And banishing that detached Mimicry Raidraptor from the graveyard, allowed Adamant to search his deck for a Raidraptor trap card as well. He placed that trap down in the spell/trap zone along with two other trap cards. "That ends my turn."

 **"BEGINNING TURN 02. DRAW."** Everything the drone did, took place within its body. A sixth card appeared in a container, and one of those cards was placed on a transparent blade. " **SUMMON THE MAJESPECTER CROW - YATA."** The card materialized as a purple-feathered crow(4/1000/1500) with a red cape around its neck. It was not just any monster either. "A Pendulum monster?" Uno could see that it was half spell and had a scale. It didn't have a pendulum effect though. "This would seem to be an entire archetype of pendulum cards." Iria analyzed the card with her disk. Dreamworld definitely never printed anything like this. " **ONCE PER TURN, WHEN THIS CARD IS SUMMONED, ADD ONE MAJESPECTER SPELL CARD."** The Templar continued as Yata extracted a spell from its deck, before shuffling the deck. " **ACTIVATE THE SPELL; MAJESPECTER CYCLONE. WHEN ONE MAJESPECTER IS TRIBUTED, ONE CARD WILL BE DESTROYED."** A storm broke out, after Majespecter Crow was sacrificed. The Cyclone came after Force Strix. "Then I activate Raidraptor - Desperate." Adamant quickly countered the spell with a counter trap.

 _Raidraptor - Desperate, Counter Trap  
If an opponent's card or effect is activated that would destroy one or more card(s) while you control a "Raidraptor" monster: _  
_Target 1 card you control and draw 1 card. The target is unaffected by the activated card or effect._

Due to the Desperate trap, Force Strix gained enough speed to break free from the storm winds and avoid destruction. At the same time Adamant drew one card. "I wonder if it expected that." Adamant pondered out loud. He might have succeeded in making himself look defenseless by adding a weaker Raidraptor trap to his hand before. "Maybe. But that was just the tip of the iceberg." Uno was the expert on pendulums. The tributed Majespecter went to the Templars extra deck and he did not expect it to stay there for long **. "SETTING THE SCALES 2; MAJESPECTER CAT NEKOMATA AND 5; MAJESPECTER TOAD OGAMA."** Certainly not when the enemy already had everything it needed for a pendulum summon. A white cat and a green toad hopped down in the pendulum zones at the left and right end of the flying disk. **"PENDULUM SUMMON THE MAJESPECTER FOX KYUBI AND THE MAJESPECTER CROW YATA."** The crow was resummoned and a yellow fox(4/1500/1200) joined it for company. The Crows effect had already been used this turn, but the Fox could still activate his. **"WHEN KYUBI IS SUMMONED, ADD ONE MAJESPECTER TRAP."** Templar M searched the deck and added a Majespecter Tempest countertrap card.

 **"BEGIN BATTLE."** And now the real fun started. A quickplay spell was played from its 'hand.' **"MAJESPECTER SONICS. THIS TURN IT DOUBLES THE ATTACK AND DEFENSE POINTS OF ONE MAJESPECTER, AND HALVES ITS INFLICTED DAMAGE."** The power of sonic winds was given to Kyubi, making the Fox(3000/2400) twice as fast, yet half as deadly. **"IT ATTACKS THE XYZ-MONSTER."** Like a bolt of lightning, the Fox jumped towards Force Strix. With one swift tap, it pulled the Owl apart and turned it to shrapnel. "Then I shall activate Raidraptor Return." Adamant flipped his second trap. Now that his Raidraptor monster had been destroyed, he could reclaim a Raidraptor monster from his graveyard. Vanishing Lanius was the only possible choice. **"SECOND ATTACK."** The Templar waited only as long as it needed to. The very next instant, Majespecter Crow attacked Adamant directly with a blast of purple whirlwinds. "Ngh." It was an attack that pushed Adamant down to one knee. "What? It's casting solid visions?" Iria gasped. **"SET THE TRAP. MOVE TO TURN 03"**

Adamants LP: 7000

"Our data suggested as much." Adamant grunted. The attack hurt him a bit more than he anticipated. "Do you see now why we desire this type of technology?" He looked at Iria as he drew his next card. "These duelists may not be human, but they can think like them. They shouldn't be under-estimated. However.." He then activated the spell, Allure of Darkness, to draw two cards. Afterwards he banished one dark-type monster from his hand; Raidraptor Tribute Lanius. "They can be tricked just like anyone else." The drone clearly expected Adamant to summon Tribute Lanius, hence the trap it chose to set. Instead.. "Trap card!" He activated his final trap, XYZ-Reborn, to revive RaidraptorForce Strix in defense mode. **"COUNTER WITH THE TRAP, MAJESPECTER TEMPEST. MAJESPECTER CROW IS TRIBUTED TO NEGATE THE SPECIAL SUMMON OF THAT MONSTER."** The Templar responded now. A powerful Tempest formed, killing Yata and Force Strix in a row. There was no escape this time. "Hmph." Yet now Adamant could retaliate with an effect from his graveyard. He banished his trap, Raidraptor Return. It used Force Strix's destruction to retrieve a new Raidraptor card from Adamants deck. "I add Raidraptor Readiness."

"Nice!" Uno was overjoyed that Adamant managed to get ahead a little. "Perhaps. But what can he do now? According to their texts, Majespecters cannot be targeted or destroyed by effects." Iria had to point out the walls Adamant would run in if he tried to use his usual destruction or powerdraining tactics. And destroying Pendulums in battle was not a permanent solution. "I already know most of my XYZ-monsters will be powerless against them." Adamant normal summoned Vanishing Lanius again and activated its effect to call out a new breed of Raptor. "Raidraptor Burning Dragonius!" A serpentine bird(4/1000/1000) of white and blue steel ascended into the skies. Upon its summon, it immediately lobbed a fireball at the opponent. "Dragonius inflicts 600 damage each turn." The fireblast packed as much of a punch as the Majespecters wind attacks. The Templar was not damaged in any way however. "It wont fall until all its lifepoints are gone." Adamant concluded. "XYZ-summon!" He overlayed the Napalm bird with Vanishing Lanius to summon another Force Strix(4/100/2000). He detached an XYZ-material from it and added a Raidraptor Avenge Vulture card to his hand. Then he placed three cards in his spell/trap zone. "My turn has ended."

Templar M's LP: 7400

 **"BEGINNING TURN 04. DRAW."** Templar M's latest card did not stay secret for long. **"ACTIVATE THE FIELD SPELL MAJESTY'S PEGASUS"** A spell was placed down and its appearance expanded across the garden. "Whoa." A vibrant green hurricane surrounded all four duelists. "It should take an entire stage to create a hologram this big." This machine kept impressing Iria, though she was loathed to admit it. **"ALL MAJESPECTERS GAIN 300 ATTACK AND DEFENSE POINTS. ADDITIONALLY, BY TRIBUTING ONE MAJESPECTER, ANOTHER IS SPECIAL SUMMONED FROM THE DECK."** The Majespecter Fox gave up its life, flying away with the winds. An orange raccoon(4/1500/1200) stepped out of the hurricane. **"SPECIAL SUMMONING MAJESPECTER RACCOON - BUNBUKU. WHEN THIS CARD IS SUMMONED, ADD ONE MAJESPECTER MONSTER."** The card that Templar M took from its deck this time, was summoned right away. It was a tribute summon, and the Raccoon was the tribute. **"NORMAL SUMMON MAJESPECTER UNICORN - KIRIN."** And there was the same Unicorn(6/2300/2300) that Adamant met before, the boss of the Majespecters. **"ONCE A TURN, IT WILL RETURN ONE CONTROLLED PENDULUM MONSTER TO THE HAND, TO RETURN ONE OPPOSING CARD TO THE OPPONENTS HAND"**

"I am ready. I have been for some time." Now was the moment to spring his trap. "Nightmare Archfiends!" Before Kirin could activate its effect, Adamant activated his. Nightmare Archfiends tributed Force Strix and created three Nightmare tokens. All three(6/2000/2000) were special summoned to the opponents field. "Oh. Oh! Now he can't.." Uno saw why Adamant did it. So clog up as many of Templars monster zones as possible. Now the drone could only pendulum summon one more Majespecter. "..." The tokens however could still attack, and Adamant was no longer guarded. Iria did not like the look of this. **"PENDULUM SUMMON."** Templar M did not care much. It just used his Cat and Toad scales to re-summon Majespecter Crow - Yata(1300/1300) from the extra deck. **"ADD THE SPELL, MAJESPECTER CYCLONE."** Another spell was added to the machine's hand with the Crow's effect. **"BATTLE"** Then Majespecter Crow launched a direct attack against Adamant, striking him down with purple gales.

Adamant's LP: 5700

"Rgh. Come, Avenge Vulture!" Adamant rolled back and gripped his cards. Now that he had taken damage he could special summon the one-eyed Vulture(4/1700/100) from his hand in defense position. "And Raidraptor Readiness!" He combined that with his trap effect. Flipping Readiness made every Raidraptor indestructible as a result of battle for this turn. **"THE SPELL, MAJESPECTER STORM, TRIBUTES ONE MAJESPECTER TO SEND ONE MONSTER TO THE DECK."** But it did not make it immune to an effect like that, so Adamant had to act once more. Majespecter Cyclone swallowed Majespecter Crow and came for Adamant's monster next. "Swallows Nest!" He flipped his quickplay spell, switching the winged beast on his field with one of an equal level in his deck. "Raidraptor Napalm Dragonius!" Avenge Vulture vanished, evading the cyclone alltogether. A second Napalm Raidraptor(4/1000/1000) appeared in defense mode. **"ACTIVATE THE EFFECT OF MAJESPECTER UNICORN. TARGET THE RAIDRAPTOR."** So Templar M finally used the power of Kirin. The Unicorn retreated from the field and left a strong wind in its wake. That wind forced Napalm Dragonius back into Adamants hands. The enemy had a clean shot. **"ATTACK."**

"No!" The voice of Alice broke through, right as the Templar was about to declare its direct attacks. "What?" She and Eric came out the front door. "You shouldn't be.." Adamant was interrupted by the first Nightmare fiend token, who swiped at him with his claws. "Tsk." A big cut appeared on his coat, and 2000 of his lifepoints disappeared. "Gah. Why did you take that? Can't you..""Quiet!" Adamant yelled at Eric before the kid could say too much. Then he jerked his head back to the enemy. _"Did it catch on to my plan?..."_ Templar M was not moving. Yet it was not the duel that had given it reason to re-assess its situation. **"PROCESSING NEW DATA. NEW IDENTITIES ANALYZED. ONE KNOWN, ONE UNKNOWN."** It was Alice and Eric. "What..what does it want?" Alice shivered. This thing could already tell that she did not belong here? "It can't do anything. Not until it deals with me." Adamant grunted. **"ATTACK.** " The drone picked up on this noise and made another direct attack with the second Token, pushing Adamant against the walls. **"ATTACK."**

Adamants LP: 1700

"Not this time." Adamant finally banished Raidraptor Readiness and Raidraptor Avenge Vulture from his graveyard. This allowed the trap to negate all damage this turn. "You could have done that at any time!" Iria blurted out in exasperation. She didn't see why Adamant allowed that much damage to go through. "I could, but I needed this." Seeing as how further attacks were pointless, Templar M ended its battle phase. **"MOVE TO TURN 05."** It only had three tokens to defend it. But on the next turn Adamant would face the Majespecters all over again. "The last turn." So he would end it with this. With the card he had drawn. "Napalm Dragonius." First he normal summoned the Napalm Raidraptor that Kirin had forced back. Then he activated his spell, Raidraptor Call. "Another." The spell 'called' upon a Raidraptor with the same name as one on the field. One final Napalm Dragonius(4/1000/1000) joined the fight. "Now." Adamant activated both their effects. Two explosions rocked the machine's body, each caused 600 points of damage.

Templar M's LP: 6200

"I took the damage, Iria Silver..." Adamant grabbed his two monster cards and placed them on top of each other. "Because only one XYZ-monster can secure a victory." He performed an XYZ-summon for a rank 4 Falcon the others hadn't seen before. "Raidraptor - Blade Burner Falcon. Of course." Iria got it, once she saw the great blue/white mecha-falcon(4/1000/1000) descended to the garden on burning wings. "It can increase its attackpoints by 3000 when the opponen't lifepoints are at least 3000 higher than Adamant's." That condition was fulfilled, Adamant activated the effect and made Blade Burner Falcon(4000/1000) suck in all the ambient heat and energy. "It attacks and.. I activate Ghost from the Past!" Adamant revealed his last face-down card. This trap banished two monsters from his graveyard to completely obliterate a monsters attackpoints. "My Raidraptors, my token!" The ghosts of Vanishing Lanius and Force Strix arose to haunt one of the Nightmare tokens. It(0/2000) was weakened just in time for Blade Burner to burn it to a crisp with its jet-flames.

Templar M's LP: 1400

Templar M took more than battle damage at that. "Oh yeah. When a Nightmare fiend token is destroyed, its controller loses 800 lifepoints! In that case.." Uno did the math in his head and realized that Templar M was going to lose more than just 800. "Yes. When Blade Burner Falcon destroys a monster, he can destroy another by detaching an XYZ-material. I will detach both!" Adamant removed the two attached cards, and Blade Burner Falcon blasted upwards into the sky. It fired two more shots which came down like bombs. "Templar M!" Uno only had once chance. "I don't know if someone is controlling you from far away, or listening to what you see. But if they are, I can tell you one thing! Uno is back!" He shouted it loud and clear while he could. Bombs and flames drowned out the rest soon after. The other Nightmare fiends perished in the flames and Templar M took 1400 points of damahe. **"DEFEAT ACKNOWLEDGE. SHUTDOWN IN PROGRESS."** It turned out that it indeed could not keep going without lifepoints as it shorted out and crashed into the pool.

Templar M's LP: 0

"That was a needless risk, Uno. We shouldn't advertise ourselves to the enemy." Adamant scoffed as he walked over to the pool. "Hey, we beat it, didn't we?" Eric felt the worst was over. "That was just one of them. I doubt it will fall to the same tactics twice. These machines can learn and we cannot fight them all." The XYZ-duelist looked the drone over. Didn't seem like they could salvage much of it now. "How many.. are there?" Alice did not want to imagine a number. "It claimed to be from the M-series, code 31178. So assuming there's a series for each letter in the alphabet, that should be at least 810628 Templars." Iria shook her head. "Adamant. It's about time you told everyone what we are dealing with."

"Something that exceeded our projections. The initial scouts estimated that the enemy had taken over most of the continent. It is worse than that; the enemy has expanded across the planet." To prove it, he created a 3-dimensional map of the globe with his dueldisk. It showed how far it had gotten. "The entire planet is all like one big country?" Now Eric knew what Walter had meant with the 'no borders' comment. "95 % of it is. A few isolated regions exist, and they wont remain long. This global empire calls itself the Millennium Union, but what it really is.. is expansionist. In the name of _peace_ , everything else has been absorbed into Millennium." While countries kept their own name, their official name had become that. "How.. where did this Union even come from? Who are these people?..." Iria cursed. Empires did not just come from nothing. "That, I could not find out without exposing myself. Information online is too closely monitored."

"Then what are we going to do now?" Alice asked the question on pretty much everyone's mind. "Walter already ran, took the car and everything. Left a few others behind though." Eric figured the old guy had the right idea. "Ah. Well we can't stay here either. More of those things are gonna pop up. Adamant, I take it that enormous city in the distance is important? What about the cities around it?" Uno noticed there was still a vast distance between them and the bright metropolis. "That place is this country's control city; where the regional government resides. It is surrounded by cities that existed before the Kingdom. I do not know if it'd be smart to go there." The XYZ-duelist was not sure what Uno was plotting. "Maybe. But I think we _should_ go there. We stand a better chance at reasoning with cityfolk than with drones. And I have another reason.."

"Which is?" Iria inquired.

"The Templar reminded me... that we are not alone.. _Some_ of us exist in this world too."

(To be Continued in Redux 086: The Other Left)

 **New Cards used by Adamant  
** Raidraptor - Napalm Dragonius

-  
Raidraptor - Burner Blade Falcon

 _-  
Raidraptor - Desperate (+)  
_Ghost from the Past

 _(+ Based on the Trap used by Shun in YGO Arc-V)_

 **Cards used by TEMPLAR M  
** Majespecter Crow - Yata  
Majespecter Cat - Nekomata  
Majespecter Toad - Ogama  
Majespecter Fox - Kyubi  
Majespecter Raccoon - Bunbuku  
Majestecter Unicorn - Kirin

-  
Majespecter Cyclone  
Majespecter Sonics  
Majesty Pegasus  
Majespecter Storm

-  
Majespecter Tempest


	5. The Other Left

**Redux 086: The Other Left**

As it turned out, Walter owned a whole collection of cars in his garage. So the gang borrowed one while making sure enough credits were left behind to compensate him for the trouble. Alice insisted on that. Now they were on the road with their grey minivan, leaving the mountains at last. Their hope was to blend in on the highway. "Geez.." Instead they stood out like a sore thumb, driving in between far more advanced car models. "It's like we took a wrong turn into the future." Eric had never seen anything like this; they were sleek, smooth and all electric. "They're all so pretty." And they were colorful too. Alice couldn't tear her eyes away. "Alice, I have to ask. Did you have anything like this in your world?" Adamant realized she wouldn't want to think back that far, but he felt it was important to know if all of these advances were truly that new. "No.. Not like this." She managed to dig up her memories a little. "I didn't know the names of other countries either, but.. I do know we didn't have one big empire. I think it was more like.. your world." After all, back when she first crossed over, she didn't even noticed that she was in completely different timeline.

"You must be thinking what I am thinking." Uno jumped in. "That this kind of technological advancement could only have come through decades of development?" Iria was on the same page, even while focusing on driving the car and keeping an eye out for more Templar drones. "Yes. This is all too sudden. Why didn't anything like this happen in the other timeline?" That was the question. Their world didn't even have a Millennium organization anywhere on the map. "Yeah, where's our future cars!" Eric grumbled. "It's simple. It didn't come from this time either. It came from a future that no longer exists, but the knowledge was not lost." Uno's summary carried a familiar element. "Tempus. This could be his doing." Adamant surmised. "That guy that the Zodiacs were chasing?" Alice'd almost forgotten about that. "Yeah. There's a decent chance that it's his handiwork. December said that Tempus liked to abuse his powers of time travel. And that he created this whole new dimension to hide in. Creating an empire in this world, with powers from the future, sounds like a thing he'd do."

Eventually, the first major stop on the western path towards the new Control city presented itself: Skyheart City. The buildings there still resembled those of the other world for the most part. Just a few new constructs were planted here and there; architect's dreams come to life. No Templars were visible, the group was free to enter a garage and park the car. "You go ahead and do what you need to. I will stay here and guard our transportation. Perhaps I have more reach here." Adamant still wanted to find his contacts in the guild. "Cool. We'll go ahead and check the place out." Uno leaped out of the van. Alice followed.. while Eric hesitated.

"Hey, Uno. I know you said we could try and find our counterparts. Because they'd be the first to listen to us.." That was the idea that Uno shared as they drove down the mountains. "But didn't Cassius say that if two of the same.. well.. bodies.. meet each other.. they explode or something?" He definitely did not want to experience that. "Aaron said that?" Alice missed that part of Cassius' explanation of the two timelines; among other facts. "He has a point, Uno. This is why my guild only prepared duelists from a certain age for our invasion." Adamant was not one to trust Cassius, yet he did not believe the Synchro-duelist would lie about this. "And you're worried we'll just bump into your twin on the streets here?" Uno scratched his chin. "Maybe? I was born around here. My own town doesn't even exist anymore, I might be living here instead. Mom would never move far from the mountains, she likes them too much." Eric's concerns were not something Uno could ignore, he conceded to that. "Alright. You can stay here, help Adamant with his stuff. Hey Iria, where were you born?"

"Not here." She answered flatly. "Good! Then you can come too."

...

More signs of this world's startling progression came to light as the trio stretched their legs in Skyheart City. People crossed the streets with computers the size of a fist; strapped to them as visors, wristbands or part of their clothes. Kids hovered along on electric shoes or boards. Three-dimensional commercials for were projected via huge billboards, promoting everything from neo-plastic surgery to bizarre and eccentric fashion styles. It truly was like a glimpse of the world of tomorrow. "It looks so amazing.. I want all of it!" Alice paused to wonder at everything, she was glued to every shop she passed, from . "We cannot afford useless expenses, Alice Brandt. Nor would it be proper to take such equipment back to the other world." Iria was certainly impressed as well, but she did not want to be delayed. "...Okay." Alice sulked and picked up her pace. "Still.. everyone looks so happy here." The men and women they came across acted like they didn't have a single care in the world. As if they hadn't been conquered by an outside force. "Maybe they got used to it by now. Or they enjoy the gifts of the Union too much." Uno wished he could say the same. Uno still did not feel one iota of familiarity with this world.

What the streets also had in abundance, were duelists and their dueldisks. "I think it is obvious.. If we are to be effective at all in this world, we should remedy our status as a duelist. The Templar recognized me, but that will only get us so far." Iria was looking for something in particular, a location she had picked out back when she was using Walters computer. "And that is where we can get it." She pointed her finger towards a large dome at the opposite end of the park. "That's a... dueling school?" Big steel letters, bolted to the front of the dome, spelled it out. This was a dueling academy. "Is this like a guild's place? Do they have those here too?" Alice wondered what type of summoning they even taught there. "It doesn't matter what they preach, so long as they can give us access to the dueling network. In addition, we need new dueldisks. Our old ones stand out." Iria had left hers behind for a reason. "Well. It can't hurt. And we get to see a lot of duelists on this side too that way." Uno liked this plan. "Yes, that is another reason." The disciple muttered to herself. "Well, I would be happy just to see people dueling against other people, for fun." Alice said, assuming that there wouldn't be any Templars in there.

While the school building was full of duelists of all sizes, none were mechanical luckily. There were enough people here to hold a dozen tournaments, and fill a multitude of guilds. "Huh. It seems the Union built this place and funded it." Uno read the information of a plaque that belonged to a statue in the middle of academy grounds. _"Is that supposed to be someone?"_ The stone statue was of an unknown duelist, with a blank pointed face. "A distraction to keep the people pleased, nothing more." Iria scoffed. "Like Rome, with the gladiatorial games? Do you think Dom wouldn't like it here?" Alice asked carefully. "Dreamworld would never have created the game for such dishonest purposes, I can promise you that." Then again Dreamworld did not exist at all in this timeline. "But their devices are adequate." The disciple already purchased five dueldisks with their new credits and handed two of them to Uno and Alice. "Weeeird." Looking at these disks up close gave a strange sight. They resembled Uno's first disk more than the Synchro Guild disks the gang used up until now. Except they had no slots for field cards. The field was projected like a blade of energy, which you could turn off and on. "How do you turn it on Ms.."

"Silver?" The disciple was not listening anymore, she focused on the big screen hanging against the wall where ongoing duels were shown. "Iria!?" Iria abruptly ran away. Uno and Alice gave chase. She stopped outside the main dueling ground, among several hundred spectators.

"..Of course it's not him." Iria let out a groan of disappointment. "Him? You mean.. Dom?" Uno caight which duel she was drawn to; one of the duelists on the field was using Performage Plushfire as a pendulum scale. "Those cards.." They were the magicians that Dom himself had invented, counterparts to Uno's Performapals. "Did you think you would see him here?" It would be hard to imagine anyone else using those cards. "For a second I fooled myself into thinking that, yes. I was stupid. Dom always shared his inventions with UNO. And if UNO lives in this world. It makes sense that he'd create Performages here too." Both worlds had to be as similar as possible, for unknown reasons. "I believed that Dom could go to a facility like this. Dom was banished into this world, he would try to find any place where he would be comfortable." She knew him like no other. And even she could not predict her masters whims every time. At times like these, she could really use Creffield's help.

"Uno.." And that was not the only shocking sight. "He's also using.." Alice saw the other pendulum cards on this duelists field; Performapal Monkeyboard. "My pals?" Not even Uno's cards were unique here. "Who is even using.. Stan!?" His heart nearly sank as he read the displays above the field. "Stan from the XYZ-Guild?" Alice looked again. This man did share a resemblance. "Uhm. Stan is a name that appears a lot, right? And Adamant did say his elite wouldn't have dupli..."

Stans LP: 7000

"I overlay my monsters to XYZ-summon Lavalval Chain in defense mode!" The duelist pendulum summoned Performage Damage Juggler(4/1500/1000) and Performapal Silver Claw(4/1800/700). Then he overlayed them to create a fiery serpent(4/1800/1000), whose effect sent a monster to Stans graveyard; Performage Trick Clown. "It's him." Uno sighed. Even in this universe without an XYZ-guild, Stan reduced dueling to rank 4 monster spamming. There was not a single creative bone in his body. "That explains why Stan was not one of the duelists who helped Roma take over the tournament, he could never be included in the invasion plans." Not that Iria thought any better of Stan this way. The way he was using Doms card was appalling.. Already Stan used Tricks Clowns effect to revive Performage Damage Juggler in defense mode. He didn't take damage from that effect because of Chicken Game, the field spell kept his lifepoints untouched as long as they were lower than his opponents. "But who is he playing against?" That person Alice had a lot more interest in.

Zenshins LP: 8000

After Stan placed a trap card down, he passed the turn to his opponent. It was a young adult with a shaved head and a light beard. "So you believe this time you will succeed Stan?" He drew his card. Then thanks to the field-wide effect of Chicken Game, he could pay 1000 of his own lifepoints to draw an additional card like Stan did in the last turn. "You challenged me, so you must think you do." He then summoned a monster, a wizard(4/1800/1800) in blue armor and robes. "Let us see. This is the Skilled Blue Magician. You should know its ability." Zenshin activated another spell card, Gateway to Chaos. "I know. Whenever you activate a spell, the Blue Magician gets a spellcounter. And when Gateway of Chaos is activated, it places a Fierce Knight of Gaia in your hand. I have studied well, headmaster. I am ready!" Stan boasted as Zenshin used the Gateway's effect to draw Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight from his deck. Meanwhile the Skilled wizard added one counter to his staff.

Zenshins LP: 7000

"What is he? A teacher? Is this a lesson?" The man certainly acted like one. "What are ya, new? He's a headmaster. Stan's dueling him to get a high scale status." A random spectator helped Uno with his questions. "Status eh?"

"What do you get when you merge Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight with Curse of Dragonfire?" Polymerization was activated. The fusion spell fused two monsters in Zenshins hand. "Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion!" A horseriding knight and a wyrm dragon joined as one, the fierce knight(7/2600/2000) now rode the red-scaled dragon in the skies. "Correct! And Sky Galloping Gaia's fusion summon secures me one card from my deck; Spiral Spear Strike!" Zenshin took a continuous spell and placed it on the field. The activation of Spiral Spear Strike and Polymerization placed two more spellcounters on Skilled Blue Magician "Now I may tribute my Magician with three spellcounters, to special summon a Gaia monster from my deck!" Zenshins monster used up all gathered magic. It disappeared in a flash of light. "I choose Charging Gaia the Fierce Knight!" In rode another version of Gaia, the horse riding knight(7/2300/2100) who wielded two red lances.

 _"So... he's a fusion duelist?"_ Alice mused as she watched Zenshin go on. Her assumption was not 100 % accurate. "Whenever a card is sent to your graveyard, Gateway of Chaos creates a spellcounter. I know what is coming, master." Stan saw that the field spell had already accumulated two spellcounters thanks to the fusion summon and the sacrifice of the Blue Mage. "As well you should. By banishing Skilled Blue Magician, one more spellcounter is made for one of my cards." Zenshin removed his spellcaster from the grave, and the Chaos Gate gained its third counter. "And for these three spellcounters, a Ritual Spell is claimed!" Zenshin used up all the field's spellcounters to claim a Super Soldier Ritual spell card. "Rituals?" Alice gasped. She never imagined anyone would combine fusing with ritual summoning. "I ritual summon Black Luster Soldier the Super Soldier!" Yet there Zenshin went, tributing Charging Gaia on his field, along with a 4th level Manju of the Thousand Hands in his hand. The sacrifice of their eleven level-stars was enough to bring out an eight-starred ritual monster from his hand; The sword and shield wielding Black Knight(8/3000/2500) of Luster and Chaos.

"I do not fear you, headmaster. XYZ-monsters will always remain superior." Stans bravado stuck despite this turn of events. "That was your first mistake, Stan..." Zenshin dipped his hand in his deck. "When Charging Gaia the Fierce Knight is tributed, a Black Luster Soldier card can be added to my hand! I choose the Envoy of the Beginning!" This next move caused the audience to gasp. "The Envoy?" This card was known throughout dueling history, even people in the other timeline would know of it. "By banishing light and darkness, I can summon this monster!" The light-type Manju and the dark-type Charging Gaia were mixed together in a pool of chaotic energy. The Envoy(8/3000/2500) of gold and blue leaped out of the vortex, joining his ritual brother of purple and red. "The stage has been set. Now you will see the outcome of your actions! Gaia the Dragon Champion strikes first!" Zenshins fusion monster flew down and impaled Lavalval Chain with its javelin. "Due to the effect of my continuous spell, Spiral Spear Strike, Gaia the Dragon Champion can inflict piercing damage!" The spear shot through the XYZ-monster and hit Stan too. "Guh."

Stans LP: 5400

"Havent you made a mistake as well, master? Now that my lifepoints are lower than yours, I cannot take any further damage!" His field spell was still kicking too. Chicken Game would nullify any further attacks. "Perhaps. There is always an element of fate involved. But you need to account for that as well." Zenshin drew two cards from his deck, in the middle of his battle phase. "And fate has decided that you have much to learn still. I activate Defusion from my hand!" The quickplay spell targeted Gaia. "No!" It split the fusion monster into its original materials: Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight(7/2300/2100) and Curse of Dragonfire(5/2000/1500). "When Curse of Dragonfire is special summoned, he destroys one field spell!" Stan couldn't do anything. His Chicken Game spell was burned to cinders by the red wyrm. "Now. Let us end this." Zenshin ordered his four remaining monsters to attack. He did not even need them all. The Envoy of the Beginning destroyed the defending Performage Damage Juggler, and gained a second direct attack through its own powers. After that another direct attack from the Super Soldier depleted the remainder of Stans life. "You have lost."

Stans LP: 0

"Yikes. He did all that.. in one turn?" It had been Zenshins first turn even. This guy had no mercy to spare. "And he didn't use solid vision holograms. I thought he would, but its not like with the machines." Alice was glad not everyone had to duel for their life here. The worst Stan got was a rejection. "I still had too many weaknesses, damn. But this is not the end. I will be back next week." The duelist did not even mind that much. "That is a quality in and of itself, duelist Stan. If you desire, you may challenge me again. You can always find me here." Zenshin bowed and turned his back to his opponent. Stan bowed in return and left the stage. Right away two new duelists took up their spots and began a fight.

"Synchro and XYZ-monsters; Fusions and Rituals; Pendulum summons. Everything goes here." Alice saw cards of all colors elsewhere in the arena; cards the other world had never seen before. "No guilds, no fighting." It was like a microcosm of the world outside. Millennium united everything into one peaceful whole. In fact, if the online news was to be believed, there were no wars or internal conflicts anywhere. Only some, like Iria, refused to trust this atmosphere. "I doubt it is as perfect as it appears. But that is besides the point." Her sentimental side shut down. "Dom is not here. We should sign up for a virtual trial, which grants us a low status, but also basic access to the dueling network. It should be easy enough to win and... Wait, where is Uno? How long has he been... !?" Iria saw Uno in the distance, walking back with a big grin on his face. "What. Did. You. Do?" She demanded an explanation. "I went one step further! I signed us up for a public trial tomorrow, against that headmaster guy!" He revealed happily. "What!? Us?" Uno, and Alice, nodded. "Sorry. I thought it was a good idea." Alice smiled briefly. "And that Zenshin guy seemed okay with it. Said he welcomed anyone no matter where they came from! We could probably get Eric and Adamant to join too!"

"You are insane." Iria had no other words..

She was not the only one in the hall to stand there flabbergasted. A girl with spiked and painted hair saw the trio and immediately hid behind a pillar before they spotted her. _"Did they just say his.. And why is.."_ She peeked around the corner again to make sure she wasn't seeing things. _"Maybe I misheard? I gotta tell them anyway! This is our chance!"_

(To be Continued in Redux 085: A Common Misunderstanding)

 **Cards used by Stan  
** Performapal Monkeyboard  
Performapal Silver Claw  
Performage Plushfire  
Performage Damage Juggler  
Performage Trick Clown

-  
Lavalval Chain

-  
Chicken Game

 **Cards used by Zenshin  
** Skilled Blue Magician  
Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight  
Curse of Dragonfire  
Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion  
Charging Gaia the Fierce Knight  
Black Luster Soldier - Super Soldier  
Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning

-  
Gateway to Chaos  
Polymerization  
Spiral Spear Strike  
Super Soldier Ritual  
Defusion


	6. A Common Misunderstanding

**Redux 085:** **A Common Misunderstanding**

"... can tell you one thing! Uno is back!" Uno's last words to the templar were replayed on a large screen in an enclosed room. Figures in the dark observed Adamants duel from beginning to end, until it all went dark. "That was all of the black box footage, sir. The Templar unit shut down and we are sending backups to recover it." One of man standing summarized the events to a man sitting in a chair. "Fascinating." The man let out a cheerful chuckle. "And these are all the duelists it identified?" The screen shifted to five images; five faces. "Yes sir. I figured you would need to see this first." The underling stated submissively. "And you have done well. Now copy this to my archives and delete the original file. The Union... does not need to see this yet." The standing man nodded and excused himself from the room to do his work. "Yes I know." The seated man spoke to seemingly himself. "But it is still strange to see _her_ here." He placed his hand on the screen, touching Iria's face. "She's nothing like the other."

...

"Do you even understand the concept of a 'low profile', Uno?" Iria could not believe that Uno and Alice had gone through with it. They scheduled a public duel when a simple online challenge would have been enough to get status in this world. And these two even used their own names. "Last time I checked Uno is not my real name. And the real UNO is eventually gonna notice that someone is running around using his name and his Odd-Eyes dragons." The Performapals were no longer his cards alone, but the Odd-Eyes dragons and the Magicians appeared to still be one-of-a-kind here. Uno learned that when he checked the legal card lists. "And Alice is not.. really my name either. Allthough I should have gone with something else maybe?" Alice considered several alter egos, like Dorothy or Matilda. Even if those would be too much on the nose. "This is not a game. We risk attracting too much attention.. And we do not know if UNO is even willing to help us without Dom by our side." The last time a disciple tried to talk to UNO alone, he made it very difficult to get anything at all.

"Hey Iria. Not to question your sense of direction. But did we park here?" For the last half hour the trio doubled back to the parking garage, only they were walking back and forth on the wrong floor. Adamant and Eric were two stories higher. "Keep your voice down and keep walking." Iria slowed down but did not stop. "Why are we doing this?" Alice asked. "Because.." The disciple kept going for a little while longer, until she had her confirmation. "We are being followed!"

She turned around. "Gack!" Two shapes came to a dead stop behind them; followers. The pair wore common clothes, while their faces were obscured. "How did she.. when did you notice?" The one wearing a ski mask sounded like a young woman. "Probably since the beginning. She lured us here." The other was definitely a man, allthough his full-face visor-helmet muffled his voice quite a bit. "You stalked us for long enough, is the answer. You will go no further than this until you tell us who you are and what you want." These two were holding their own dueldisks, so their intent was half clear already. "You have to _ask_ us what we want from you? Are you taking me for a fool? Trying to disguise your self will not work! I know who you are!" The man spoke like he wanted to retch. "If you are accusing me of being Iria Silver. Then I do not deny it." The disciple wanted to see where he was going with this. He had to be talking about her counterpart in this world. She did not expect to be confronted like this so soon, nor did she think it would do her any good to pretend to be someone else. "Then you do not deny it!"

"Uhm.. have we met before?" For a brief moment Uno wondered if these figures were from his past. "No not really.. I don't know who you two are, or why you hang around with her." Except their animosity was directed primarily towards Iria. "Oh we're Alice and Uno. We're her friends.. You sure you haven't heard of Uno?" Alice inquired. The masked girl was not sure how to react to her chipper attitude. "Friends? You call yourselves her friends?" The man growled. "You still haven't answered my question." Iria reminded him by activating her own dueldisk. "Who we are is not important. We've not met before. And that is a good thing." The man activated his dueldisk too. "But you can call us Purgatory and Inferno! We will be your executioners!" 'Purgatory' stated with a fiery passion. "Oh they have cool names and everything." Alice fawned. Now she really regretted not picking a codename before. "Again with those names? I told you that we do not have to tell them anything, not even lies!" 'Inferno' rebuked the woman. "Silver! I don't know why you are here, and now I will have to force the information out of you! I demand you duel me!"

Inferno's LP: 8000 Iria's LP: 8000

"Very well, I accept." Iria drew five cards from her deck faster than Inferno could. "Rgh!" This meant that she would have the first turn. "Inferno. If you need my help." Purgatory offered. "Hey if you think about jumping in, we'll do the same." Uno was ready for another duel. "They outnumber us, but the others do not matter. Just her. This is between the two of us, understand?" He snarled at both his partner and at Iria's partners. "I wouldn't have made it unfair anyway." Alice insisted. Though she would definitely cheer Iria on. "Enough chit-chat. Take your turn, Iria Silver." Inferno waited. "I take no orders, child." Iria figured out how to wield her new disk quickly. She discarded a spell card. "This monster, Berlineth the Firestorm Vassal, can summon itself by taking a card from my hand. And then it will banish one card from my opponent's hand for one turn." A fire-wielding knight vassal(3/800/1000) materialized within the garage. It threw one fireball at Inferno's cards, revealing them (Igknight Margrave, Igknight Gallant, Dragon Horn Hunter, Dark Factory of Mass Production and Igknight Burst) to Iria and to Uno. "More Pendulums." There were fire-elemental pendulum monsters in there.

"Do you like what you're seeing, Silver? I bet you don't! We took this deck from one of your Templars that we downed!" Purgatory shouted with pride. "You stole it?" Alice gasped. "It was the only way to level the playing field. You people from Millennium keep all the strongest cards for yourself! Besides, it was just a machine!" She yelled some more. "Cards from Millennium? In that case.." Iria forced Inferno to get rid of his Dragon Horn Hunter. Then she activated a field spell card. "This is Domain of the True Monarchs." A hall of pillars arose around the five duelists. "With this I shall reduce the Level of one monster with 2800 Attack and 1000 Defense in my hand by two." The card she chose was a level 8 Monarch. As a level 6 monster it could now be summoned with just one tribute. "Thestalos the Mega Monarch." Berlineth was tributed, and he transformed into the mighty flame emperor(6/28000/1000) through a storm of fire. "Now your Igknight Gallant will be discarded." Iria knew which card she had to burn with the effect of the tribute summoned Mega Monarch. "And you take 200 points of damage for each of that cards levels." Igknight Gallant's level was six, meaning Inferno lost 1200 lifepoints. "Agh."

Inferno's LP: 6800

But that was not all. "Oh no! Because the tribute was fire-type, Mega Thestalos can inflict 1000 more points of damage!" Purgatory cried out as more flames hit her partner. "I know!" He grunted.

Inferno's LP: 5800

Afterwards Iria placed the last card in her hand face-down in the spell/trap zone and ended her turn. Dragon Horn Hunter returned to Inferno's hand, but Gallant would stay dead. "What I do not understand is why you are using a deck like that, or a disk like that!" Inferno drew his next card. "Did you expect more? I only needed one look to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your Igknights. Against them this will do more than fine." Before Inferno took any other actions, Iria pointed at her field spell. "Because you cannot get your pendulums back. Only I control a tribute summoned monster, and no monsters rest in my extra deck. Under these conditions, Domain of the True Monarchs negates all opposing special summons from the extra deck." She had him up against the proverbial wall. Inferno didn't have anywhere near enough resources to set up a counter-attack. "You think I can't see that?" Inferno placed two trap cards in his spell/trap zone and left his turn at that. "That does not explain why you are acting this way, Silver! What are you and the 'Union' here to do?"

"Okay this is driving me crazy. Iria, I have to ask." Uno stepped forward. "Hey, you two. What do you think Iria is? And don't tell me _I am supposed to know_. Just give me the story." If being direct was the only way to get answers, so be it. "You're joking right? Has she fooled you too? She's the Grand Inquisitor!" Purgatory yelled. "Grand.. Inquisitor?" That wasn't a title Alice expected. "She's the leading duelist in this region, and the head honcho of the Templars." She further explained. "So that's it." Iria was for her part remarkably calm. "You're not surprised?" Uno thought she would have flipped a little. "Before I met Dom, I was training to join a security agency. I always possessed a strong sense of justice, you could say." She shrugged. It made sense to her that she'd gravitate towards keeping order in this world too. "Justice? You call that justice? You've arrested countless innocent people! The news may try to suppress it, but we know how you and your templars 'keep the peace'!"

"What did you say?" The news before Iria could deal with. This shook her, just a little. "Don't act so surprised! You know what you are! And I am not letting you go, so stop stalling!" It was not his turn anymore. "Those things you speak of, I will not make excuses for them.. As I do not need to. The woman you speak of is not me." She regained herself and drew her next card. The card was another Mega Monarch, so Domain of the True Monarchs could cut the level of that it by 2. "Strike of the Monarchs... and Mega Granmarg." She tributed her ultimate fire emperor for the ultimate earth emperor. But only after she activated her discarded spell from her graveyard. Strike of the Monarchs banished itself to transform Mega Thestalos into an earth-attribute monster. This would unlock Mega Granmarg's full power, and allow her to destroy both of Inferno's traps. "You're not her? The hell you arent!" Unfortunately for Iria, one of those traps she could not have prepared for. "Skill Drain!" Inferno paid 1000 lifepoints for this continuous trap which negated all monster effects on the field. "You wont get your way!"

Inferno's LP: 4800

"I want nothing from you. Your affairs are not mine!" Iria would have to settle for her monsters brute power. "I attack!" Mega Granmarg threw a rock at the opponent. Bringing his life down even further. "Yet we want everything from you. We're here because of everything you've done in the name of Millennium! So tell me, in what way do we have the wrong person?"

Inferno's LP: 2000

"Would you believe, we're from another dimension?" Alice just tossed it out there. He did ask. "Wh-what?!" Inferno stammered. "That's..that's a joke right?" Purgatory sounded equally bewildered. "..No. I am afraid not." Uno backed the story up. That just made Inferno seethe even more. "I do not know who you two are, but you will be the next to burn!" Iria had already ended her turn, so he violently drew his next card. "A good twin, a robotic clone, or just really good cosmetic surgery; claim whatever you want! I see only a person nobody would want to impersonate!" He activated a spell card. "Painful Decision! I will discard a normal monster from my deck to add another normal monster with the same name to my hand!" The Igknights were pendulum monsters, and also normal monsters. They only had powers as spell cards. That was why Inferno could send one Igknight Templar to the grave to claim another. "Templar. Even saying it, is a slap in our face! I have a new name for it; Igknight Dragnov!" The second Templar knight(4/1700/1300) was normal summoned. "Trap card; Igknight Burst! I can destroy a Igknight to destroy a card you control!"

"A nuisance." This is what Iria had been trying to prevent with her Monarch's effect. Inferno destroyed the Templar to destroy the Mega Granmarg. "Domain of the True Monarchs cannot stop my pendulum summons, with no tribute summoned monster on your field!" Inferno declared as he activated another card from his hand. "Dark Factory of Mass Production! I will take back Igknight Gallant and Igknight Dragnov." The factory spell reproduced the two normal monsters in his graveyard. He placed both in his pendulum zones. "Now witness the force of your own pendulums! Each Pendulum Igknight has the same effect! One can destroy itself and another Igknight in the other pendulum zone, to find and retrieve a fire-warrior in my deck!" The Templar and Gallant knights shot fire at each other from their spellzones and blew up in a massive explosion that rocked the garage. "I add Igknight Cavalier, no, Igknight Derringer to my hand!"

"Two for one? That seems.. oh wait!" What at first seemed like a costly move, was actually a lethal strategy. "That's right, Alice, this is just the beginning." Inferno now filled his pendulum zones with the Igknight Margrave and Cavalier. "Again!" These two killed each other in a blaze of glory, just like their brethren. Their destruction called upon a third Igknight Templar from the main deck. "There's five of them.." All the knights that died had gone to the extra deck. "You understand as well, Uno. This is how her Templars can crush so many duelists. Now the tides have turned!" The last Igknight Templar (scale 7) was set down alongside the Dragon Horn Hunter; the female dragonslaying knight (scale 3). "PENDULUM SUMMON!" Inferno slammed his hands together as he resurrected each and every fallen Igknight; the Two Templar snipers(4/1700/1300), the machinegun toting Igknight Gallant(6/2200/2100), the knife-throwing pink Igknight Gallant(6/2400/1200) and the riotcop Igknight Margrave(5/1500/2500). "Heh. Showing off your gun trivia again." Purgatory laughed quietly.

"This is how you fall, Silver. See how I added some touches of my own? When Dragon Horn Hunter is on the field as a spell card, she gives 200 attackpoints to all normal monsters." The black knight spread her power across the five warriors of fire. "So do you have any last words?" The masked man inquired. "A few. If I were the Iria Silver. Would the duel truly be this easy?" Iria had a question instead. "... She.. She has a point. I didn't think we would be winning, or even get a chance to find her unguarded." The more Purgatory thought about it. The less it all added up. "Don't listen. This is just another mindgame of hers. She always take whatever advantage she can and never holds back. That I got her this far just means that she never expected to fight against a deck like this. I beat you fair and square, Inquisitor!" He claimed as he entered his battle phase."So feel this; the fear that every one of your victims felt!" Igknight Margrave(1700/2500) and the two Templars(1900/1300) attacked first. "I see." And Iria, just let it happen. She had her answer. "Igknight Derringer! The final attack is.." Cavalier(2600/1200) grabbed her knifes to prepare the killing shot. And if that failed, there was still Gallant(2400/2100) to finish the job.

Iria's LP: 2500

But something got in the way.. Inferno couldn't see his own monsters anymore and neither could anyone else for that matter. "What the hell are you doing?" It was this bright light that came from Uno, it drowned out everything else in a flash. "I am not helping her! It's.." This was not an effect for a duel. "My pendulum!" Uno pulled out the jewel that hung around his neck. The intensity of the light went down after a few seconds.

"Guys?" And when it was safe to open ones eyes again, two more duelists had joined Iria's ranks. "What's going on? Who are these bozos?" Eric Stonewell was here with Adamant. After a while the duel between Iria and Inferno got loud and flashy enough to get the attention of anyone above or below this floor. "Who're you calling a... a..." Purgatory wanted to give these newcomers a piece of her mind. The sight of them however drove her to a different emotion. "That's not possible.." She snapped her head towards her partner. "I see him too." You could hear the shock in his voice as well. "Who are you?" They were in a better position now than before, so Adamant demanded some reasons for this madness. "We didn't mean you, whoever you are." Inferno pointed towards Eric. "We were talking about you." The man uncoupled a clasp on the side of his helmet and removed it from his face. "!" Alice, Eric and Uno recoiled as they saw who was underneath.

Eric Stonewell.

"Why do you have _my_ face? _My_ voice?" He looked like Eric, thinner but it was definitely the same face. Without the mask he sounded like Eric too. "Because I am Eric Stonewell! Who the devil are you?" Eric retorted back. He was the last to connect the dots. "I think we found your counterpart, Eric. Wait. isn't he going to explode now?" Alice shouted, "I am?" Eric flinched and jumped back. "Nobody is going to explode. I think my pendulum reacted because two people from different worlds were getting too close. So it's protecting you both." Uno could see a dim light still burning inside the jewel. "This changes everything." Iria relaxed her stance and deactivated her dueldisk. "What? What!? You don't get to give up! I was about to beat you!" 'Inferno' protested. "You weren't. Not that turn." Iria told him and showed him. "I could have stopped you." The trap she had set from the beginning was Oath of Companionship. With it she could have stolen control of one of his Igknights. "You were going to let me win? You would never.." Nothing about this seemed real anymore. Iria was not acting like Iria and there was one more Eric.

"Another dimension... What else is there to this story?"

(To be Continued in Redux 084: Someone Else's Paradise)

 **New Cards used by Iria Silver  
** Berlineth the Firestorm Vassal  
Thestalos the Mega Monarch

-  
Domain of the True Monarchs

 **Cards used by 'Inferno'  
** Igknight Gallant  
Igknight Templar  
Igknight Cavalier  
Igknight Margrave  
Dragon Horn Hunter

-  
Painful Decision  
Dark Factory of Mass Production

-  
Skill Drain  
Igknight Burst


	7. Someone Else's Paradise

**Redux 084: Someone Else's Paradise**

The hour grew late. The more time passed, the more templar drones dotted the skies. For that reason the duelists decided to go to quieter parts of the city. As Adamant drove, the story of his allies and their Eric-a-like was told in great detail. 'Inferno' and Purgatory learned about the other timeline, the guilds and the travelers from the future. A few fantastical parts; like the prophecy sisters involvement and Alice's past, were left out. "You expect us to believe all this?"The second Eric was still skeptical. "Hello!? What about me!" The first Eric did not understand his denial, with him right there. "You could be anything, a cosmetically altered replacement, a robotic duplicate. Millennium can do all kinds of stuff you know!" Purgatory, who still refused to take of her mask, stood firmly on her partners side. "Well he's not wearing a mask, if thats what you're thinking!" Alice proved that by pulling on Erics ear. "Ow! Thanks Alice." Eric rubbed the sore spot. "Aside from that. How would we know to copy your image? Are you particularly infamous in these areas? Are you part of some larger-scale operation?" Iria assumed that these two couldn't have been working alone. Not if they managed to take down a Templar drone. "So you want to find out about us?" Inferno's words indicated as much.

Adamant stopped the car. "We need help, and we cannot ask this Union." They were the enemy the XYZ-guild feared. And if the Iria of this universe was truly as monstrous as she was purported to be, their chances of befriending her would be slim. "Like it or not. A war is coming. Those guilds now have the power and the means to invade. We need to warn your people. You should understand more than anyone." Uno was hoping they would see the truth. But the other Eric did not want to budge. "There is no way we can take you to the others. Not unless we're absolutely certain."

"Then ask Eric things only he would know!" Alice suggested. "Yeah. I can tell you my.. ehr.. our dads name.. Lucius!" Eric yelled. "That knowledge is free to the public. Anyone could say that. Where is Lucius now?" The other Eric inquired. "Ehr.. on some kind of businesstrip. He said he'd be back by september." This Eric rarely saw his dad lately. "That's wrong! His parents divorced ages ago!" Purgatory objected loudly. "They did? Wait.. that's just because things happen differently here! Right? What chance do I have if you want me to know all that?" He in turn objected to this entire interrogation. "Hrmph! I know what to do. The best way to figure a guy out, is a duel!" She grabbed her dueldisk and her cards. "I challenge your Eric. Then I will see how much like my Eric he really is!" The first Eric rose from his seat and took his new dueldisk. "Okay, fine!"

And so, minutes later, the two were facing each other outside in the the empty city harbor. "This is a waste of time." Iria griped as the rest watched. "If this is the quickest way to do it. Let them." Adamant gave it a shrug. "You can do it Eric!Wait this is gonna get confusing if we have to call you Eric too. Can we call you Inferno?" Alice asked the 'Inferno'. "I'd rather you not. Call me Stonewell if you must." He grumbled. "Fine. Then I'll be Eric Jones!" Jones was his mothers last name, so he could just use that. "That's not necessary." Stonewell grumbled.

Erics LP: 8000 Purgatory's LP: 8000

"Whatever. And you I guess will still be Purgatory. Well, you're about to go one level deeper!" Eric had the first turn and he summoned a wild dog(3/0/1800) that had two extra heads stitched on its body. "I summon PeroPero Cerperus. Then I activate a spell by sacrificing that monster; Monster Gate!" The threeheaded beast fell into a magic portal. "I pick up cards from my deck until I find a monster that I can summon, and summon it!" Uno excavated five cards from his deck; Five Infernoids, one trap and the Fiendish Rhino Warrior. All but the latter were sent to the grave. "Aha!" The demon rhino(3/1400/900) emerged from the other end of the Gate. "Infernoids?" Stonewell couldn't hide his surprise when he saw his counterparts deck-theme. "Yup. Infernal, isn't it? By banishing two Infernoids, I can special summon Infernoid Asmodeus!" Eric removed two of the five Infernoids buried in the grave. A third, Infernoid Piaty the golden hell-prince(5/2200/0), broke free and summoned itself in attack position. "How is that?"

"Infernoid _Asmodeus_? Hm, you know to imitate that annoying habit at least." Her partner liked to give his Igknights better names too. "But how do you handle a fight?" Purgatory's turn came. And she placed two cards on either side of the disk. "She has pendulums too?" Uno was curious if these came from a Drone too. They did not look like the type for it. "I set Abyss Actor - Sassy Rookie and Abyss Actor - Funky Comedian!" A circus clown (scale 2) with eyes on its arms and knees, a rotund four-armed demon (scale 8); these were Purgatory's monsters. "Thanks to them I can pendulum summon Abyss Actor - Wild Hope and Abyss Actor - Big Star!" Two more from this troupe appeared from her hand; a colorful mechanical cowboy(4/1600/1200) and a thin black one-eyed actor(7/2800/1500). "Those are..her cards?" Iria was not sure what she'd expected. Not this.

"Try to keep up, Eric." Purgatory normal summoned another Abyss Actor - Funky Comedian(1/300/200). "I activate all my Abyss actors! When I summon him, Funky Comedian gains 300 attackpoints for each Abyss Actor monster I have! Wild Hope can also add 100 attackpoints to himself for each unique Abyss Actor!" The heavyset demon(1200/200) and the wild demon(1900/1200) were thrice applauded and thrice empowered. "Where did that noise come from?" Eric didn't see anyone cheer. The sound was built into the dueldisk system. "And once each turn, Big Star places one Abyss Script spell card from my deck face-down!" Purgatory drew her Script, Fantasy Magic, and hid it face-down. Spells searched this way would be destroyed at the end of the turn. "Finally, Funky Comedian may share his own attackpoints with another monster on the field, giving up his own attack at the same time." The comedian jumped on Wild Hope's back, further powering him(3100/1200) up. "Oh did I say 'finally'? I forgot the final final step! As a pendulum monster, Funky Comedian can also redistribute stats! By tributing an Abyss Actor.." Big Star bowed gracefully and disappeared behind a wide curtain. "His attackpoints are left for another!" The residual power traveled towards Wild Hope(5600/1200).

"What the.." It was a lot at once. "Hrm. You're definitely naive-er." Purgatory observed before she flipped her face-down spell. "I activate my Abyss Script now." Wild Hope read the magic script and changed outfits. He looked like a fantasy wizard now. "Wild Hope, make Piaty disappear!" In the battle phase, the fantasy cowboy shot his bullets right at the flying demon. "As if that.. hey!" His Fiendish Rhino Warrior protected all demons from death in battle, and it did so this time by deflecting the bullets with its spear. Yet Infernoid Piaty faded away anyway. "You didn't notice that Fantasy Magic was more than a costume upgrade? Any monster Wild Hope fails to kill, will be returned to the players hand." She had no plans of letting him keep his combo. "Well, your monster is dead too!" Eric grabbed PeroPero Cerperus from his graveyard. "When I take damage, I can banish the Cerberus to destroy one monster on the field!" The hound lunged forward and tore Wild Hope's head off. "Hey thanks! When Wild Hope is destroyed, I can put a new Abyss Actor in my hand." Purgatory gleefully pulled a second Abyss Actor Big Star from her deck. "Aargh!"

Eric's LP: 4600

"Eric. Try to stay calm! This duel is just beginning!" Uno knew how mad Eric could get. He never played well like that. "Ffff.. I know.. I know." It worked a little towards cooling him down at least. "Well it's your turn again." Purgatory placed a spell card down and ended her turn. "..." Eric drew his card and glanced to his left. _He_ was watching, but he wasn't talking. "I.. summon Infernoid Astaroth!" One more dead Infernoid was banished, so that Infernoid Patrulea(4/1800/0) could live. "He can destroy one set spell or trap, yours!" The dragonic duke released a burst of hellfire from its jaws, and incinerated the spell. "Oops. You shouldn't have done that." That card turned out to be a second Fantasy Magic Abyss Script. "If a face-down Fantasy Magic gets blown up, it will push one monster on the field back to the deck!" The spell's magic lashed out violently and Fiendish Rhino Warrior was the unlucky victim. The card was placed on top of Eric's deck. "Is this it? Eric would not be that easy to fool!" The masked girl sneered. Stonewell finally had something to say too. "You may have my face, but you do not have my skills."

"Yeah? Say that again in a turn or two!" Eric placed two trap cards face-down. Then he banished the last two Infernoids from his graveyard to resummon Infernoid Piaty(2200/0). "When Asmodeus takes my opponents lifepoints away, he also takes one of their cards in their hand away!" He explained just before his demon attacked and destroyed the Funky Comedian(1/300/200). The chubby actor had lost his attackboosts by now, so Purgatory lost a big chunk of life along with its destruction. "So, that was it for your second Big Star!" Piaty forced the opponent to discard the last card in her hand. Unfortunately that was the end of the damage, as Patrulea could not attack the turn it uses its effect. "My turn's over!"

Purgatory's LP: 6100

"Neat, but it's not exactly going to change anything." Purgatory took two cards from her extra deck. "Here we are again! Pendulum summon!" Big Star and Wild Hope(4/1600/1200) dropped down on the field. Wild Hope wasted no time in re-using its effect on himself(1800/1200). "Big Star, give me Abyss Script Rise of the Dark Ruler!" The Star actor summoned a new book from the deck. "Rise of the Dark Ruler destroys a face-up card for each attack-position Abyss Actor in attack-position. It's a no-brainer which two cards are going to be targeted, eh?" She flipped the Abyss book open. A muscular demon jumped out of the pages and slaughtered both Infernoid Patrulea and Piaty with its claws. "I'd say this duel is as good as done. Big Star, Wild Hope; attack him directly!" Big Star raised his hands above his head and gathered magical energy. With a mighty swing, he threw the blast towards Eric. "...Heh. Gotcha." The blast was fast. Eric's trap was faster. "Blazing Mirror Force!" A wall of flames rose between the two duelists. "Blazing!? You.." The fire reached as high as it could, before it crashed down on the Abyss Actors and destroyed them. "..idiot!" Then the fire spread towards Eric and Purgatory.

Eric's LP: 500 Purgatory's LP: 2000

"Eric? Was that part of your plan?" Uno shouted. "Of course!" He emerged from the flames with a big smile on his face. "It was worth it, to get to her. " ..." The trap Blazing Mirror Force destroyed all attack-position monsters and inflicted damage equal to those monsters combined original attackpoints. Eric took the damage first, Purgatory second. "Well.. at least you saved 200 lifepoints." Alice looked at it from the bright side. Purgatory didn't have any monsters left either. "Of all the boneheaded things to do. A breeze can knock you down now!" She growled as she activated her Pot of Riches spell card. The three Abyss Actors in her extra deck were returned to the main deck, allowing her to draw twice. "And what about you?" Eric retorted. "What about me?" Purgatory placed the two drawn cards in the spell/trap zone and ended her turn. "Well you can imagine I'm a bit distracted with my mirror self breathing down my neck. So I forgot to think about you. Why are you with him?" She seemed to know a lot about this universe's Stonewell. "I am just a friend."

"Really. Well, while this is awkward for us both, I am not letting it get to me anymore!" Eric started his turn with a trap; Fiend Comedian. "Heads!" Fiend Comedian tossed a virtual coin which Eric had to call. And he hoped he called it wrong. "Knew I could count on my bad hand!" The coin landed on tails. "I'll discard three cards from my deck!" Fiend Comedian discarded one card for each card in Purgatory's graveyard. Two of those cards were Infernoids. "Better and better! I banish three Infernoids!" Patrulea, Piaty and a third demon were consumed by the fourth Infernoid in the depths. "No time for regrets anymore. Say hi to Infernoid Lilith!" Infernoid Devyaty, the lesser(9/2900/2900) of the two great hell serpents took corporeal form. Upon its ascent, all spells and traps would be destroyed. "Eric.. Stonewell.. I see some resemblance now." In the face of that, Purgatory lowered her hand. "You mean you believe me now?" It sounded like she did. "Starting to, Eric... But that does not mean I am giving up!"

She flipped her set spell, Mystical Space Typhoon. "No way I am losing to any Eric Stonewell!" The spell destroyed one of her pendulum spells; Sassy Rookie. Then Infernoid Devyaty destroyed her other spells. "Oh.. Not again.." That destruction included a face-down Abyss Script. "Yes again! You destroyed the script of Opening Ceremony! If that set card is destroyed, while I have Abyss Actors in my extra deck, I can refill my hand completely!" She drew as many as five cards from her deck. "What? That's ridiculous!" Eric thought such cards would be forbidden. "That's the new world, Eric." She pulled her mask down so Eric could see her grin. "Well. Better hope you got something amazing then! Go Lilith, direct attack!" It and Infernoid Devyaty coiled around Purgatory. Purple flames traveled upwards inside its body. "I'd say my hopes paid off, Eric! I summon Battlefader!" From her hand she activated the effect of the clock-sounding Battlefader. It(1/0/0) summoned itself and ended the battle phase. "Lucky shot." Devyaty's fire was extinguished. "I set a monster and a trap and end my turn."

"Maybe. Let me teach you one thing, Eric _Jones_. In this world you can't end a duel until we know the winner! So you should cherish whatever luck comes your way!" She activated two of her new cards; another Funky Comedian for the 8th scale and a muscular demon for his 1st scale. "Abyss Actor Evil Heel! Let them see my.. Pendulum summon!" Purgatory special summoned the Sassy Rookie actor(4/1700/1000) from her extra deck, and Superstar(7/2500/1500) from her hand. "And why don't we.." Superstar activated his Script searching ability, setting a second Rise of Dark Ruler spell card down on the field. "Clear the stage!" She activated the Dark rulers script, targeting both of Erics monsters for elimination.

"Nice try, Purgatory!" Eric retaliated instantly. "But Skill Prisoner makes Lilith untargetable by card effects this turn!" He flipped a trap and immunized his infernal serpent. Rise of the Dark Ruler could not resolve if it couldn't destroy one of its two targets. "Clever! That'll also stop Evil Heel's effect. But you forgot about Funky Comedian!" The pendulum actor did another dance and clapped its hand. Sassy Rookie was tributed, and Superstar(4200/1800) took over the monsters attackpoints. "As if. I knew that was coming. But I wanted you to fight for it." This time Eric was out of fancy getaways. "Really? Heh." The powered up Superstar spun his hand around until he created a whirlwind of light and magic. The attack pulled in Infernoid Devyaty and swallowed her whole. With that the duel ended, and the disks could be turned off.

Eric's LP: 0

"Aww. I thought Eric had her." Alice sighed. "He almost did. You can blame him for that. Stonewell was the one who told me to add some more protection cards to my deck." Purgatory shared a look with Stonewell. "You can always count on him. But..I think I can count on you guys too." She pulled back the rest of her mask to reveal her face; her hazel eyes and her spiked hair with painted streaks. "Nice to see you." Uno took that as a sign of good faith. "Stonewell, what do you say? I mean if you can't trust yourself, who can you trust?" She turned to her partner whose scowl finally began to soften. "Very well. I suppose we can show you our hideout."

"Finally." Iria groaned. Now they were getting somewhere.

'Somewhere' turned out to be another letdown for expectations. Their 'hideout' turned out to be a medium-sized freighter at the harbor. "This is it?" The place was abandoned, decommissioned as Stonewell explained it. As it turned out, with all the new technology Millennium offered. There was no room in the world for outdated cargo transporters like these, so every city near a harbor had a few spares lying around. It was only a temporary base, he added. "Hey guys!" After Tory called, more members of this club came out of the shadows. "Hi there!" Alice waved at them. "Hey." One waved back un-enthusiastically. They all wore masks of various types, and seemed to prefer anonymity. "They're all.." But Iria could tell, none of them sounded a day older than Uno. "Like us." Adamant was more used to this kind of gathering. "You've started a rebellion." They had done what the XYZ-guild wanted to do. "Hey. Are you sure about recruiting these guys? I mean that girl looks a lot like Silver." One member brilliantly pointed out. "Oh there is a reason for that." Tory could barely contain herself. "We've got a surprise for you guys!" She stepped aside and revealed the other Eric Stonewell. "Whaaaat?"

The 'resistance' members took the revelation and explanation remarkably well. "I knew it. The signs all pointed to it, interdimensional timetravel!" One guy yelled. This was at last proof for his crazy theories. "Really? So you're a second Iria Silver?" Another was afraid to even be near the disciple. "No offense man, but I think you've been reading too much of that scifi stuff." And there were of course a few skeptics. "Trust me. I am not there yet either. But since the place isn't crawling with Templars already, they may be on the level." Stonewell cast a quick glance at the last sunlight. "Speaking of which. It's time to go inside." Everyone moved to the bridge of the ship, where its cargo now lied. "Wow. Where did you get all this stuff from?" Computers, machines and wires were sprawled across the floor. "Let's just say we have a secret benefactor. He gives us, and others like us, missions from time to time. That's where all of this comes from." Stonewell tapped one of the computers. "So you're one of many cells? What are all of you supposed to achieve?" Uno asked. "The end of this Union. Our mission is to expose their lies to the world." Stonewell explained it succinctly.

(To be Continued in Redux 083: One Thousand Questions)

 **New Cards used by Eric Stonewell  
** PeroPero Cerperus

-  
Monster Gate

-  
Blazing Mirror Force  
Skill Prisoner

 **Cards used by Purgatorio  
** Abyss Actor - Sassy Rookie  
Abyss Actor - Funky Comedian  
Abyss Actor - Big Star  
Abyss Actor - Wild Hope  
Battlefader  
Abyss Actor - Evil Heel

-  
Abyss Script - Fantasy Magic  
Abyss Script - Rise of the Dark Ruler  
Pot of Riches  
Mystical Space Typhoon  
Abyss Script - Opening Ceremony


	8. One Thousand Questions

**Redux 083: One Thousand Questions**

"What's your name? And yours? What does that one do? And that?" Alice felt like a kid in a toystore. The kind of machines she saw here made what she was used to look ancient. "I told you we don't use names here. And don't touch that." One member of Stonewells club yelled. "We monitor the dueling network with that; keep track of all the Templars in the air and all the duelists on the ground. It will take too long to explain the functions. Just know that everything is where it should be." They had to move this stuff around a lot, and they would prefer to keep it intact and organized. "How can you keep all of this a secret? Wouldn't anyone be able to track you here?" Iria did not feel very secure in what, to her, looked like a massive hotspot of network activity. "We have one the best coders this side of the country on our side. Nobody can find us here as long as I am in charge of security." Another masked man boasted about himself. "Heh. If you want to call these guys anything, just call them Limbo 1, 2 and 3. That's what I always do." Tory shrugged. She had always been the least interested in hiding her identity. "Regardless." Limbo # 1 coughed. "What's with the third degree? We should be giving you the questions!"

"Well go ahead! Ask me anything! I bet you're dying to know what life is like for Eric in another universe!" Eric smiled at his counterpart. "Not really." Stonewell for his part did not play a reflection very well, with his dull frown. "Huh? Why not? I mean I have a ton of things I want to talk with you about! Like.. how's mom? Is she doing okay here? Isn't she worried sick about us.. I mean you.. staying out this late?" It was well into the evening. And Eric's own mother never not threw a fit when he returned home later than nine' o clock. "She's doing as well as you can in this union. You worry about your mother, and let me worry about mine. Just because of who you are, does not mean you get to tell me what I should do." Eric must have touched a nerve he didn't know he had, as Stonewell snapped rather hard. "He was just asking." Alice tried defend Eric. "Then let him ask something useful! Don't waste time checklisting every little difference. It wont make it any better or worse!" He stormed off to lean against the corner. "Geez." Eric could hardly recognize himself in Stonewell.

"Then what would you like to know? Why we came here?" Adamant was willing to cooperate for the time being. "That'd be a nice start." Tory said. "Very well.. Have any of you ever heard of the XYZ, Synchro or Fusion guild?" The former XYZ-leader started off with a quiz. "No? Wait; your world divided duelists by summoning methods? That sounds antiquated." Limbo # 2 laughed. Here people could put whatever they wanted in their extra decks. "It did. And I led the XYZ-guild.. for a time. On the surface we were just a dueling guild. In actuality we were much like you, a group of soldiers funded by outside sources. Those sources discovered your world, and sent some of us here." Adamant almost wondered if their forces could have worked together. But it seemed like these people never even heard of his squads. "What are you saying?" Uno asked. "That'd be my question as well." Stonewell asserted. "We weren't the only ones. The Synchro Guild managed it too, they infiltrated both worlds simultaneously. Providing duelists like you with the means to take down the current rulers; sounds like something they would do."

"Oh I get it. But no.. I cannot take you to our 'benefactors'. They only ever meet with us online." Even if Stonewell wanted to help Adamant with that, he couldn't. "I see. Then.. there is something I must do." He got up and walked towards the exit. "Hold on! Where do you think you're going?" Tory got in his way. "I spoke of it just now; my guild sent people here. It took the best scientists in the land, but together they devised a gate that allowed us to cross over. My men went to the other side, with the materials needed to recreate the gate on that end and to establish a continuous gateway. There is a gate machine in this world too and that is where I am going now. I do not know if it still is secure, but I intend to return"

"That's a nice story. But that doesn't make me feel better about letting you leave after you saw our secret base! You could go to the nearest surveillance station and rat us out!" Tory said, voicing her concerns. "Then have one of you join me. I will show you 'our secret base'." Adamant made a counter-proposal. "Are you giving that as a way for us to keep an eye on you? Hmph. How are the skies?" Stonewell turned to one of his partners. "The next templar will come by fifteen minutes from now." Was the response. "The timing is good then. I'll go with you." He walked up to Adamant. "But your friends will have to stay here for the evening."

"What!? We gotta sleep on this freighter?" Eric yelled. "Do you have any better place in mind?" Stonewell countered. "We.. didn't really get the chance to look at places yet." Uno confessed. This day threw a lot of distractions at them. "It's not so bad. We have plenty of food and the crews cabin has decent beds." One of the Limbo-guys stated. "Eh.. I think you're making a fuss about nothing. Adamant wouldn't betray us. I trust him, and Eric trusts me, and you can trust Eric." Uno did not see why they had to go through that much trouble. "Not all of us are as trusting as you are, Uno." Iria got up to join Adamant and Stonewell. "You are coming along as well." Adamant inferred. "As the saying goes; four eyes are better than two." The disciple felt she could also do more out there than in here. "That works for me." Stonewell shrugged and opened the door. "..So be it." Adamant shook his head. "We will contact you before we arrive. Do not do anything 'crazy' while we are gone." Iria warned the remaining duelists, and glared at Uno in particular. Then Adamant and his escorts vanished into the night. "..I bet they're gonna be best of friends when they get back!" Alice said all cheerfully.

... "Wait. Something doesn't make sense." Tory blurted out after a few moments of silence. "If that guy has to _find_ the teleporter, how did you get here?" Adamant's machine didn't sound like the kind of portal that dropped you off at random parts of the world. "Oh. That is another story." Uno realized he failed to actually describe the 'how' part of their journey here. "You remember this?" Uno took out the crystal. Tory and Stonewell had already seen it anyway; there was no point in keeping it a secret. "How can I forget something that nearly burned my eyes out?" Tory held up her hand just in case it decided to flare up again. "This is a pendulum. It lets me travel through time and space.. when it wants too at least." He let the jewel dangle between his fingers, tantalizingly. "Oh my. That is what you used? Can I.. analyze it?" Limbo # 3 slowly reached out to it. "Go ahead. Nobody in the other timeline could figure out what it was made of." Uno dropped it in his eager hands. He ran off to place it in a scanner right away. "Okay. How did you get that?" Tory now asked him. "No idea."

"Oh. Right. You've got amnesia. But you somehow remember that you were born here and not over there." Tory ran her hands through her hair. It was proving difficult to keep all the elements of this crazy story in her head. "And you're calling it a pendulum? Like.. these cards?" She took out her own Abyss Actors. "I suppose. Some guy who calls himself UNO, whose name I.. ahem.. appropriated, claims to be the inventor of pendulum cards. But there's at least four other duelists out there who disagree. They all have something like this, and if you believe their words, than this thing is older than time itself. Don't ask me which came first, pendulum cards or pendulum crystals." One was named after the other; that was as far as Uno got. "But you guys have a lot more than we did. We were just starting to use them." Alice murmured. At that point Eric got an idea. "Hey! Maybe they can tell us who made them! Looking on the network didn't help. But I bet you guys can hack around all that protection that that empire has!"

"What makes you think we haven't done that already?" Limbo # 1 snorted. "We know a lot of what they don't want you to know. Like how this all started. The 'official' story is that this Union began at the turn of the millennium, hence the name. It was born from an agreement between representative of all countries to unite. For the sake of peace, all borders were done away with and all resources were shared. Through this the world saw an exponential rise in medical and scientific fields. It progressed decades in years. Not one man has claimed responsibility for this project, which is why have all these faceless statues about the cities. They're a symbol of the new peace. But the truth goes the other way around. There was this group of people who showed up with technology so advanced that they could literally force the world to submit to them while hiding themselves at the same time. They control the flow of information and money, they say when something is 'invented' or when something is released to the public. Sure they let everyone keep their homes, pray to their gods, and live life with even more comfort. But the governments are only going along with this because they have no choice."

"So it all began 16 years ago." Naturally such a story led Uno to one question. ".. who is they?"

"I was hoping you'd know more about that, mister time traveler." Tory folded her arms. "Well. We did have this theory that it could be this Tempus-guy. He's also a time traveler, and all the other time travelers are after him." Alice explained. "Tempus? Well I would have remembered if we came across a name like that. We only have the names of the ministers and inquisitors who work for the Millennium Union. I doubt they are at the top of the foodchain. Near as we can figure there's people they have councils with, who to answer to. But we dont know their identities." Not even the best hackers could find anything on the true creator of Millennium. "What about those control cities? Someone has got to be in charge there, right? Maybe we can find 'them' there?" Uno grew more and more certain that he would find either UNO or Tempus in one of the control cities. "Ha! Good luck getting inside one of those! You wouldn't even get passed the first barrier." Limbo # 1 chortled. "Trust me. I've forged a hundred IDs, and none of them passed the bar. You need to be like VIP-level to proceed. Like a high-scale duelist or an actor.."

"Back up. High-scale duelist?" Eric interrupted. "Yeah? They're the cream of the crop. They're the ones that get access to the good stuff, that Millennium bases its Templar A.I. on. I don't know how it is over on your side. But people are addicted to duels here, and the most famous ones can go wherever they want. There's leagues, competitions. You saw the school right?" Tory could go on forever. "Well, we did have guilds. They had ranks and classes and all that. Different word, same system I guess. But Millennium started a dueling order here?" Eric struggled to understand. "Just like Dom in our world, someone made sure that the cards existed here... So how does one become a high Scale duelist? Do you have to beat a headmaster at an academy? Because Alice and me were already planning to do that." Uno knew they didn't have much time. "Master Zenshin? He's a nice guy, but I wouldn't pick him for the trial. He doesn't pull his punches." Tory told them. Which caught Uno's curiosity. "You know Zenshin?" He hadn't mentioned his name. "Ehr maybe? Maybe I'm a member of the academy too? Ergh, yeah okay. I am a member.. That's where I first saw you guys." She caved in pretty quickly.

"The Academy is a good place, despite everything. You make friends there, get good meals and can sleep in their dorms long as you're a member. A lot of kids try it. I just.. like to live safe when I can... But listen! Beating Zenshin is just the first step. It will get you on the network and make sure Templars don't look at you funny when you duel out in the open. But you still can't get inside the control cities. Or else I would have done it by now." Tory said as she glanced through the open door. The city's light was seeping through. "It's purple again... Why does it get purple sometimes?" Alice asked. "As far as Millennium claims, it's a consequence of every major metropolis emitting so much more energy with all their new gizmos. It messes up the way light reflects, screws up the spectrum. We haven't found anything that contradicts that. You get used to it after a while." Limbo # 2 clarified. "Oh, I wasn't something it wasn't pretty. It's just.. not the same as home." Alice wished she hadn't brought it up. Now she was just thinking of her own family and town again. "Yeah. You are pretty young to be travelin' dimensions. Bad luck always happens to duelists apparently." Tory sighed. "But don't worry! I'll look out after you kids!" She said with a smile. "I'm the same age as your Eric!" Eric grumbled, exasperatedly. "But eh.. thanks I guess."

"Excuse me." Limbo # 3 mixed in with the others. "I'm sorry. I detected a trace of some natural elements, but most of the make-up is unrecognizable." He gave the pendulum back to his owner. "That's okay. It's clearly not something man-made." Uno didn't expect any answers anyway. "Maybe it's time we take you up on that offer of sleeping." He was getting tired. "We can continue tomorrow. I agree. Guys, I will guard the fortress tonight." The other Limbos agreed and headed out. "Well, goodnight then." Uno, Eric and Alice retreated to their own rooms in the ship.

"Uno, should I..have told them about me?" Alice asked Uno as soon as they were alone. "You mean about where you came from? I didn't want to do that without asking you, and I think we should keep it simple anyway, at first." Uno did not see how Alice's past could help them figure things out. "Like.. how the world is going to end in four years?" She asked further. "Oh. Right, you heard about that." Alice nodded slowly. "I'm sorry. I promised Emily, but I didn't do a very good job." When December attacked, it was hard to not talk about that. "Look. Four years is plenty of time. I will find a way to stop whatever is gonna happen. I don't want either world to be destroyed." Uno swore. "Me neither." Eric was starting to like this world. "Yeah.. it's not my home. But it's someone's." And that was all that should matter. "Now let;s get some shut-eye. I am sure the world will be here tomorrow."

...

"You should rest." Adamant said to the disciple who hadn't slept in 36 hours. "Not before you do." She didn't feel like closing her eyes near him. "You're gonna have to learn to trust someone else besides yourself, Silver." Adamant had trained himself to stay awake for long periods anyway. "How did you two end up on the same team?" Stonewell merely observed them argue as he sat in the back of the van. "!" Every roadbump further tensed his body. "How much longer?" He cursed. "At least ten hours. Settle down. There are no drones nearby. If it does come to a confrontation, we can fight back." Adamant and Stonewell could both say they had already taken down one Templar after all. "If you knew what these things did to the people that can't fight back, you wouldn't be so calm." Besides.. it wasn't the machines he was worried about.

...

Hours passed; the purple night made way for the yellow sun, and Uno was one of the first to rise. "Wha.." He didn't do so by choice. "Ssssh." Tory stirred him awake, while placing her finger on her lips. "Something's wrong?" Uno saw her throw glances at her back. "You need to wake up, and stay very very quiet. Please." She whispered urgently. "Right." Uno did as he was told and shook Eric and Alice. "Hrm, mom.. five more min..guh!." The former groaned as he sprung right up from his makeshift bed. "What's going on?" Alice looked around with drowsy eyes. "We've been found." Tory revealed right away. "What!? How?" Eric gasped. "Keep it down." She hissed softly but clearly. "I don't know how. I need to get you guys out of here. There's a path that takes us to the cargo hold. We can sneak out unseen through there." She pointed at the door behind them. "But..what about your friends?" Alice noted the absence of Limbo # 3. "It's too late for him." It hurt her to say it, but she had to. "Come." And as she led them out the back of the ship, they passed a hall with windows. "No way." Eric couldn't resist; he had to see what was going on outside. "It's her!"

He saw Iria Silver, flanked by a dozen Templar drones. They circled around the unfortunate Limbo on the deck of the ship. "Silver.. Inquisitor Silver." Whereas Stonewell could be mistaken for Eric, there was a marked difference between this Iria and the disciple. Her uniform was black, almost militaristic. Her hair was shorter, lacking the other Iria's topknot. And a black-glass scouter covered her left eye as if it were an eyepatch. "Sad little man, not even a duelist. You couldn't have done this alone; where are the others?" Her voice was the same, yet somehow colder than Iria Silver had ever sounded. "I will never tell you!" The now unmasked Limbo # 3 swore with all his might, despite the fear evident on his face. "A boring choice of last words. We will get more." She snapped her fingers.. and it happened. "Aaaaahh!" Limbo screamed when it happened to him... And Alice screamed when she saw it all. He was transformed by light. The body disappeared, leaving nothing but a card with his terrified expression on it. _"Them too?"_ Uno was aghast. The power to turn people into cards came from this world?

(To be Continued in Redux 082: Fight or Flight Response)


	9. Fight or Flight Response

**Redux 082:** **Fight or Flight Response**

Inquisitor Silver directed her eye towards the ships bridge. A sound came from that direction; a womans voice. "Crap. I think she heard us." Eric ducked below the windows. It was Alice who, upon seeing what the Templars did to the unfortunate man outside, couldn't stop screaming. She had to cover her own mouth to muffle the noise. "Alice. Breathe slowly!" It looked like she was about to suffocate while hyperventilating. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I.. I don't want to be here!" She sobbed through her hands. "We don't have to be. We're going right now, right?" Uno looked at Tory. She unfortunately had a complicated look on her face. "It wont be that easy anymore." The mechanical buzzing of the drones got louder. The Templars were surrounding the ship. "Let me duel them. We can take them." Uno clenched his hand. "Not like this you're not. I've seen bigger groups lose to smaller numbers. And Silver is here this time too. No.. we need.." Her eyes darted towards the captains quarters. She crawled over there and grabbed some items from the table, including a dueldisk. "We need a distraction."

"You're not saying, you're gonna be that distraction?" Uno cringed. Her look of determination was clear. "No. She can't do that!" Alice wailed. "I can and I will." She got up. "But..but I was the one..." Alice didn't want to scream, she couldn't stop herself. It was all her... "This is nobody's fault." Tory shook her head. "Just do me a favor. Take these." She tossed three cards at their feet and a handheld device. "You made these?" The cards were laminated ID-cards, forged ones. "While you were sleeping yeah. You can become proper duelists, take the trials at the academy and not be chased anymore for wanting to play the game. But all of that isn't gonna happen if you stay here." Tory started walking towards the front door. "The other gizmos lets you listen in on my duel and keep track of templars. Destroy the first one the minute you think I am going to lose." Tory looked back one last time, at Eric in particular. "As for you. My Eric is gonna get pretty mad. So tell him that I still trust you, that I wanted to help you. You'll know how to convince yourself, right?" Eric nodded slowly. "Good. Well, I'm glad I saw that face one last time." She pulled down her mask.

"Huzzah!" 'Purgatory' soon burst out of the bridge while tossing an orb into the air. It exploded to release a current of energy. "!?" Silver's Templars all came tumbling down, dropping in the bay's waters or on the ships deck. The device fried their circuits temporarily. "So there you are!" Undeterred, the Inquisitor activated her own dueldisk. "..." It connected to Tory's disk, forcing her into a duel with the Inquisitor. "No escape huh." Tory took her time to walk down the stairs. "That was a nice try, that EMP device of yours. But my dueldisk is made of sterner stuff." The Inquisitor smirked. "Yeah? Well you can thank the guy you just 'carded'. He made it for in case we ever needed it." She saw the once-human/now-card in the womans hands. This was not how Tory wanted to get to know his face. "You took it hard, didn't you? Couldn't help but cry about it.." Silver sneered as she put the card away in one of her pockets. "Why did you have to do that to him? He was harmless." Tory inquired the inquisitor. "Anyone who threatens the Union, deserves this fate. You will be next. So do you want to do this? You can give up now." Silver started drawing her cards. "And miss my chance for revenge? Not on your life!"

Silver's LP: 8000 Tory's LP: 8000

"I've heard that one before too. But _you_ won't even get a chance to touch me." The Inquisitor took the first turn. "My cards know your type, your sin. I set the pendulum monster; Amorphage Wrath!" There were Silver's cards that the dueling world feared. "Amorphages." There was one virus for every sin; Wrath (scale 3) took the form of a grey-scaled dragon-demon, with a wolf's head growing out of its neck. "I activate my continuous spell, Amorphage Infection. And I set the pendulum, Luster Pendulum the Dracoslayer!" The other pendulum zone was given to a winged dragon in knights armor (scale 5), with long blonde hair. "Luster Pendulum, sacrifice my other pendulum card!" Luster could destroy its pendulum partner, to search a card with the same name. Amorphage Wrath died, and another Amorphage Wrath entered Silvers hand. "But Wrath isn't your only crime. You took what wasn't yours." The woman pulled a different dragon from her deck. "With my Amorphage destroyed, Amorphage Infection grants me a new Amorphage! Amorphage Greed!" It was the crawling gold dragon with its spine-covered back.

"You're calling _me_ greedy? That's rich." Tory laughed it off. "Heh, you poor naive girl." Silvers smile was wider still. "I set Amorphage Wrath in the pendulum zone. And I activate Wavering Eyes!" A quickplay spell flipped this time. "Ugh. You're destroying your own pendulums?" Wavering Eyes blew up all the pendulum monsters on the field and activated two of its subsequent effects, counting Luster Pendulum and Amorphage Wrath's deaths. "I claim Amorphage Lechery and 500 of your lifepoints!" The spell's second effect searched the deck for new pendulum cards; a red dragon with a black scorpion tail and scorpion claws protruding from its body. The spell's first effect first inflicted 500 points of damage. "Ngh!" Wavering Eyes slammed Tory right in her chest with a flash of transparent force. "It hurts, doesn't it?"

Tory's LP: 7500

"That was nothing." Tory lied. She did her best to pay her beating heart no mind. "That was just the beginning. It _will_ get worse." Silver placed the two pendulum Amorphages she had acquired; Lechery (scale 5) and Greed (scale 3). It was time. "I PENDULUM SUMMON!" Four massive blasts of fire and light crashlanded into the freighters deck. "From my extra deck; Amorphage Wrath, Luster Pendulum!" The wrathful dragons(4/1650/0) and the dragon knight(4/1850/0) emerged in attack position. "From my hand, another Amorphage Greed!" The porcupine dragon(4/0/1950) rested in defense mode. "Under Amorphage Infection, all sins will grow and fester. Each Amorphage card adds 100 points to an Amorphage monster, and I control six cards." Infection channeled the power into Greed(600/2550) and the Wrath dragons(2250/600) through the bacteriophage-shaped canisters on the monsters backs. "Now then. You are welcome to retaliate. But I do not see that happening." The Inquisitor was finally done with the turn.

"Oh no?" Tory couldn't wait to start her turn. With the kind of pendulums she had, she could easily overwhelm Silver's monsters. "I know some guys who beg to diff... huh?" So why couldn't she? "What the? Just let me.." Her dueldisk was rejecting her cards. She couldn't set pendulum spells, or activate spells at all. "You!" This wasn't a malfunction, it was an effect! "It took you that long to catch on? Heh, you are so slow." Silver snickered as she placed her finger under her nose. "Amorphage Lechery prevents the activation of non-Amorphage spells and their effects, as long as Amorphage monsters are on my field. Amorphage Greed does the same to traps. As long as these sins live, you wont be able to use anything but monsters. And since I know what kind of monsters you tend to steal, I know you wont be able to summon anything good without pendulums." She was right. Tory couldn't bring out her Superstar the normal way. And none of her other Abyss Actors could stand up to Amorphage Wrath or Luster Pendulum. "Damn it. How could I forget that?" She mentally cursed as she placed a monster face-down, along with a spell and trap card.

"Pointless. Nothing in the backrow will stop me." The Inquisitor took her turn again. "There is one cost to using my Amorphages. Each pendulum demands a sacrifice of an existing monster." During her standby phase she had to tribute two of her monsters for Lechery and Greed. She tributed the two Wraths. "But as long as even one Amorphage lives, the seal on your cards will remain unbroken. Furthermore, Amorphage Infection activates again." The infection spell did not just respond to the destruction of Amorphages, but also when one was tributed. "Luckily for you, Infection only activates once a turn." Silver added Amorphage Sloth, a higher-leveled demon. "I should also mention that, as long as I control pendulum summoned Amorphages, only Amorphages may be summoned from the extra deck. But I can go further. When I control Amorphage Sloth." She tributed Amorphage Greed to tribute summon the lime-green demon(6/2250/0) with a dragons head and a bears head. "Extra deck summons of non-Amorphages are restricted regardless of how I summoned my Amorphages."

 _"No luck there either huh?"_ Even if Tory could set her scales, she wouldn't get the chance to resummon any of her destroyed Actors. "I Pendulum summon!" Silver repeated the process, bringing the Amorphages Wrath out from the extra deck, and another Dracoslayer from her hand. "Lector Pendulum the Dracoverlord!" It was the crazed white-haired dragon knight(4/1950/0); Luster's counterpart in black armor. "Now.. fall." Amorphage Infection powered up the Wrath dragons(2250/600) and Sloth(2850/600). Luster Pendulum was the first to strike. He pluned his sword into the body of Tory's facedown monster. "Aha!" It didn't die, it merely made a clown(4/1700/1000) jump up in agony. "Abyss Actor Sassy Rookie can't be destroyed by the first attack!" Tory clapped her hands. "And when he _is_ destroyed, he can special summon another level 4 or lower Abyss Actor from my deck!" She said all this as Silver already ordered Lector Pendulum to finish the Rookie off. The black dragon knight skewered the Actor on his trident. "Come out, Wild Hope!" So Tory special summoned the cowboy Abyss Actor(4/1600/1200) in defense mode.

"Monster effects are not negated. But this is all you can do." One of the Wrath Amorphages gored Wild Hope with its horns. "I am doing it pretty well!" Tory activated Wild Hope's effect. With its destruction she could add another Sassy Rookie from her deck to her hand. "That is not all that you are doing." Silvers eyes narrowed. "You are stalling. Who are you buying time for?" The fact that Tory was focusing just on defending gave her intentions away. "Nobody. It was just the two of us." But she wouldn't give Uno away. They probably weren't far enough away yet. "Then we can add 'being a poor liar' to your list of sins! I attack twice!" Amorphage Sloth and the other Wrath rammed their bodies into Tory. "Gwah!" She was knocked against the side of the ship, nearly falling of the edge. "I will rephrase the question. Who is valuable enough for you to give up your miserable life for?"

Tory's LP: 2800

"Oh. Like you have it so much better?" Tory managed to crawl back up. Her body was really aching now. "At least I have people I would give myself up for! Who is valuable in your life, huh?" She shouted at the Inquisitor, who did not dignify her with a reply. "Thought so! Draw!" So she took her next turn, no matter how hopeless it seemed. _"!? This card?"_ And what she drew was something that had slipped her mind; a card Stonewell gave her long ago, in case either of them ever came across Millenniums forces. "I set a monster and end my turn!" She actually had a chance now and she did not want to give that away. "You're not setting that Sassy card of yours again?" Unfortunately the Inquisitor could not help but notice the change in strategy. "Why is that?" During her standby phase, the two Wrath Amorphages were tributed for the two pendulum Amorphages. Amorphage Infection added a third Amorphage Lechery card to her hand, as a precaution. And afterwards she pendulum summoned the dragons of Wrath from the extra deck. "Who knows." Tory was as motionless as a statue. "Could it be.. your face-down monster!?" And then Silver activated a new spell: Amorphage Contagion. "!?"

 _Amorphage Contagion, Quickplay Spell_  
 _Tribute 1 "Amorphage" monster or destroy 1 "Amorphage" spell/trap card you control. Destroy 1 card your opponent controls._

Amorphage Contagion targeted Amorphage Infection first and broke it down. Then Tory's monster: a glazed donut with teeth(1/0/0), was killed. "Doom Donuts?" Even the Inquisitor had a moment of dumbfoundedness in light of this revelation. "I see, I see. If I simply attacked that card, its flip effect would have destroyed all monsters with 0 attack or defense points." The Pendulum Dracos and the Amorphages all had zero points in at least one of their stats. Her entire army would have been wiped away. No monsters would have meant no effects for Amorphage Lechery and Greed and Silver had already pendulum summoned this turn. "Undoubtedly, you would have used that opening to spring your traps or spells on me. But that doesn't matter now does it?" Tory was truly out of options. She couldn't even get a Battlefader to save her life. "So I will give you the choice; cooperate with me now and surrender everything you know. Or join your friend and have your information extracted anyway. As long as I get results, I don't care how this ends either way."

"Forget it. I am not surrendering. In fact why don't you answer something for me?" Now that she was aware of her own doom, she didn't have to care about how much she pissed Silver off. "A last request? Go ahead." The Inquisitor was amused enough to humor her. "How did you find me?" And that was Tory's question. "Heh. Does the poor girl want to know how she messed up? Sure, I can tell you. Every Templar's deck is marked. That includes the Igknights you took from that Templar that you and your friends sent crashing. One of you was foolish enough to use them in a duel yesterday, and just because you duel offline, does not mean the network wont detect it. Was that what you wanted to hear?" She inquired with her cruel smile. "So it was my fault. Yes, I'm glad to hear that." Tory returned the smile, happily. Uno and the others would be long gone by now, but not yet out of transmission range. "Hmph." No longer entertained, the Inquisitor ended the duel. A single direct attack from Amorphage Sloth was more than sufficient. "Gaaaahh!" She was thrown against the deck.

Tory's LP: 0

"By the way." That was not the end for Tory though. "Rgk." The inquisitor stepped on Tory's arm and pulled the girl's mask off so her one eye could look into Tory's eyes. "There is someone I value. And you could never understand our bond. Take that knowledge with you." Then came the light from the dueldisk, which sealed Tory's future.

...

Uno and the others were indeed in the clear. After they snuck off board, they hurried in the direction of the city. Stopping only when they ran out of breath. "She's gone. She's gone.." That was also when the connection died. The little handheld displayed Tory's lifepoints at zero. "I know. But this isn't your fault, Alice. She wanted us to know that." They had also heard every word she said during her duel, thanks to this device. "Yeah it was hers!" Eric added without thinking about what he said. "That doesn't mean she deserved it!" She cried out. "Of course not. But she did everything she could to make sure we at least got away." Uno figured Tory already saw herself as responsible for this mess in the first place. "I don't know how they can 'card' people like the Fusion guild. But I'm sure there is a way to undo the effects, to save Tory.. and anyone else they turned into cards. And they wont come after us right now, they shouldn't." Uno wiped off the handheld before tossed it to the ground and smashing it under his foot. "Well that was one thing. Now what do we do? Wait for the others to come back?" Eric didn't like the idea of waiting that long.

"I want to go home." Alice said with a whimper. "Hey, me too.. but we're stuck here for now." Eric stated the facts, for which she had no use. "I don't want to be here anymore! It's just like the other world. No it's even worse! I want my family, I want my mom and dad. I want Emily!" She turned to Uno. "Please. Can't you do it? Can't you use the crystal again?" The pendulum had brought them here, it could do the reverse. "Alice, I.. I don't know how. This thing doesn't listen to me half the time." It was a miracle that they even ended up here in the first place. "What about Adamant?" She asked. "The gate? We havent heard from them yet. And I don't know if it is safe going through there. Right now the best thing we can do is stay in the city and.. " Uno checked his pockets. He still had the fake IDs. "And maybe.. we should listen to what she said."

...

"We've arrived." Adamant woke Iria and Stonewell, as the van screeched to a halt. "..I see." Iria looked around. "I suppose I should thank you." She had not planned to fall asleep, but it seemed like Adamant had not taken advantage of that. "That wont be necessary." Adamant stepped out of the car with Iria, while Stonewell got out the back. "This is it then?" They had ended up in the middle of a forest, at what seemed to be a military complex hidden under thick trees. "It is. We chose a place far removed from civilization, where we wouldn't be seen from above." He took out his dueldisk. "Stay here. I will go first to see if the area is secure." He moved on, making his way into a bunker. "I do not know who is more paranoid. Him, you or me." Stonewell said.

"Silv.. I mean.. Iria. What are those other cards you have with you, those pendulum cards?" He changed the subject. "You noticed?" The disciple carried her second deck alongside her Monarch deck, since she never could be sure when the situation called for them. "Yeah, you fell asleep before me. I just wanted to know why you didn't use those against me." She might have done better that way. "They're the Qliphort, a deck I ran in the past. I grew less fond of it over time. That and.. they have a history." She took the cards out and sighed. "Oh?" Stonewell was eager for more on this 'history'. "These Templars. You said they can turn people into cards. They are not the only ones who can do so, I have seen that with my own eyes. So has someone else." It was hard to forget Alice's story, about the Qliphort being the Guardians of time. Iria just did not know how it all tied together yet.

"There is a problem." Adamant returned with foreboding news. "What? Are there enemies here?" Stonewell flinched. "No. There is nothing here." He replied. "Nothing.. what about your.. ""Not even that. The Gate is missing. Someone took it.."

(To be Continued in Redux 081: Darkness the same as Light)

 **New Cards used by Tory  
** Doomdonuts

 **Cards used by Inquisitor Silver  
** Luster Pendulum the Dracoslayer  
Amorphage Wrath  
Amorphage Greed  
Amorphage Lechery  
Amorphage Sloth  
Lector Pendulum the Dracoverlord

-  
Amorphage Infection  
Wavering Eyes  
 _Amorphage Contagion_


	10. Darkness the same as Light

**Redux 081: Darkness the same as Light**

The bunker turned out to be nothing more than a cover, as Iria and Stonewell immediately came upon an opened tunnel as soon as Adamant took them inside. It did not go far or deep, just below ground. "I suppose this is where your portal would be, if you still had it." There was nothing at the end of the tunnel now. "It should be. It was constructed here so that people couldn't just carry it outside. Whatever happened here, happened recently. " There was little dust on the floor. People'd been moving and scuffling. "But where is everybody then?" Stonewell was prepared to see bodies or just unconscious people. Yet there wasn't a trace of life left. "It's possible that.." Adamant inspected the place thoroughly. ".. they were all turned into cards." He didn't find any. Whoever the attackers were, they had been thorough. "I thought you said the fusion guild wouldn't get here this fast?" Iria grumbled. "Anyone could have done this. The fusion Guild, the Templars, the Circle. Though the templars I feel would have left more damage behind. And the timing is too 'recent'." This looked more like the work of the guilds to him, like the work of people who were 'invited'. "They might have left something, or one of my men could have hidden something. We should keep looking."

Looking was easy, finding something proved more difficult. The security footage was deleted, file cabinets were emptied. "Hm?" Iria only came across a few overlooked papers. "This.. could still be useful." They were maps of the entire region, including detailed schematics of several control cities. "Plans for your invasion no doubt." She cast a glare towards at Adamant. "Infiltrating those cities was an instrumental part of our plan, yes. I didn't realize that we got this far though." Between this and the Templars, Adamant wondered just how much he wasn't told about this world by his contacts in the army.

"No." Stonewell cut off the good news. "Purgatory, come in!" It was 7 AM now, which meant it was time for Stonewell to call his cell. But his handheld device had nothing but static. "Something happened. They were attacked, or worse!" He ran out of the bunker. "Stonewell!" Adamant came after him. "Back off!" Stonewell activated his dueldisk. "This was your plan wasn't it? Get me all the way here so your friends can ambush mine? I knew I shouldn't have trusted you!" He aimed the disk towards both him and Iria. "We know as much as you do. If this was a trap, it would have been sprung already." Iria pointed out. "I don't care what you say! I have to get back!" He eyed the van. "You can either try to duel us both at the same time and take our car. Or you can trust us and let us drive you back. I agree that we need to return as soon as possible. Our comrades are in danger too, if yours are." Adamant laid the options out for him. He was not going to let Stonewell take the vehicle without a fight. "Bah." Stonewell considered both outcomes, and realized there was no choice. "Fine. Take me back.. But do it quickly! If anything happened to them.. I swear to god."

...

"I don't know if I can.. I don't know. I don't know." Alice paced back and forth between the walls of the academy hall. "I know I have to..I know." It was nearly time for her duel. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to." Both Uno and her were waiting to be called to the dueling ground. They were already scheduled in, and Alice was first on the list. "But I do! If I don't.. they will come after me again." She had to duel if she wanted to become part of the network. She had the forged ID, but that wouldn't be enough. "I have to act normal.. like I'm part of it." And it would look suspicious if two unknown duelists signed up for a trial and then didn't show up. "Just like before." They were outsiders here, much like she had been an outsider to the previous world for half of her life. "Alice. I think we're okay here. This is just a school. Worst that can happen if you lose is having to come back later." Eric could vouch for that, he had his fair share of failures. "I know that too. I just.. can't stop seeing them. Those terrible duels, those people." It seemed so fun and innocent yesterday, a school were people could play games without consequence. Now she knew that people fought to survive in this timeline as well. It did not feel safe anywhere.

"Alice..." Uno wanted to say something. "Wait. Let me." Eric approached her. "Hey Alice, I know you forget some things sometimes, nasty stuff but also nice stuff. But there's one thing you shouldn't forget. How strong you can be. I saw you make your way to the semifinals, take down the freaking champion. And he's our friend now! You don't have to worry about losing, because you're not gonna lose." These words made her stop moving about. "But this guy is strong. He uses rituals too." Zenshin was still her opponent. And her anti-extra deck cards wouldn't do well against his monsters. "Well, if you need an extra kick. You can have these." Eric held out his hand. "Huh?" He was giving her a part of his deck. "I know you can use these. You don't have to, but it's nice to have the option." Eric did not need those particular cards, he had copies of them. "Alice. I could go first. I'm positive that I can arrange that here." Uno thought the best method of helping her was to let her see how harmless duels here were. "...No. I will do it." Though it still sounded reluctant, she made a decision. "This is what Emily would have told me to do.. to stop being scared."

Then the bell sounded; the moment was here. "I guess, here I go." She smiled at the guys. "Thank you, Eric.. Uno." Eric's cards were inserted in her dueldisk and she headed to the stage. "Give him what for, Alice!" Eric cheered her on. The girl arrived before her opponent while the clamor of a hundred duelists echoed around her. "It'll be fine.." She told herself. She had seen worse than this at Dom's tournament. "Good afternoon, miss Alice Brandt. It is nice to see you again." Zenshin was there, as kind as he could be. "Y-yeah. You too." Despite that, her voice and hands still trembled. "Hmm. I can see you're nervous. I hope you haven't been dreading this trial this entire time." He said sympathetically. "Oh no. Just the last few seconds." She answered, hiding the lie behind her goofy grin. She was good at that. "Well. I commend you for making it this far. There will be no shame in this, regardless of the outcome. So let us begin." Zenshin bowed his head. "Oh yeah.. of course." She quickly did the same. Then the two raised their disks towards each other. "Duel!"

Alice's LP: 8000 Zenshins LP: 8000

"As always, I give my opponents the first turn if they want it." Zenshin drew his five cards. "Thank you." She didn't want to turn down a gesture like that. "Oh.." Unfortunately her deck was playing hard-to-get. She hadn't drawn anything that could combine into a ritual summon. "I summon Mermail Abysspike." So instead she normal summoned one of her oldest cards, the brawny mermaid(4/1600/1200). "I will discard a monster to add Nekroz of Clausolas to my hand." Abysspike could discard any water-monster, like Nekroz of Gungnir, to claim any level 3 water monster from the deck. "Then I set a card in my spell/trap zone and end my turn." Now she at least had the means to acquire a ritual spell. "You combined the Mermail set with the Nekroz set? An interesting style." Unsurprisingly, Nekroz were nothing new for this universe either. "I assume this is not your first duel?" Zenshin was used to first-time duelists only using decks that came straight out of a box. "No. But it's the first time.. here." She responded with the technical truth. "The first time can always be a overwhelming, I agree."

"I shall activate Gateway to Chaos!" Zenshins turn started off with the field spell of dark and light energy. "If you have seen my previous duel, I will not need to explain how.." The spells effect added a Black Luster Soldier - Sacred Soldier card to Zenshins hand. "I was able to get this." He then normal summoned another monster, which manifested as nothing more than a set of empty Black Luster armor(1/0/0). "This one however would be new. It is Super Soldier Soul. By sending the 'soul' to the graveyard, this card can claim its power for itself for two turns." With that he meant, that Super Soldier Soul discarded the Black Luster Soldier Supersoldier card from his hand to make its own attack rise to 3000, and to rename itself into Black Luster Soldier. "My monster strikes yours!" The soldier's spirit inhabited the Soul armor(1/3000/0). With an ethereal sword it slashed through Mermail Abysspike. "Eeek!" Instinctively, Alice raised her arms to shield herself. But despite the loss of 1500 lifepoints, no physical force ever came near her.

Alice's LP: 6500

"I take it from your reaction, that have not had many virtual duels before?" The master inquired as he placed two trap cards down. His turn was over at any rate. "Yeah. Sorta." She still couldn't do it, she still couldn't make her body react as if this was a normal duel. Her hand would fade right through her monsters, she tested that. That did not convince her mind. The terror stayed.

"Well.. my turn." With her draw, she gained a spell. The deck wasn't holding her back anymore. "I activate this, Reinforcement of the Army." The spell searched the deck for a lowleveled warrior; Shurit the Strategist of Nekroz in this case. "I can use this guy as a whole tribute for a Nekroz ritual. So.." Alice discarded Nekroz of Clausolas, which searched the deck for Nekroz spells. "I will ritual summon Nekroz of Gungnir from my graveyard." Clausolas added Nekroz Cycle to her hand and played the spell. The cycle sacrificed Shurit to revive her discarded ritual monster. A redheaded sorceress(7/2500/1700) flew out of the graveyard with the wings of Gungnir's ice armor. "And because I tributed Shurit for an effect, he lets me have a Nekroz warrior." Alice's deck released yet another card, Nekroz of Brionac, thanks to the Strategist's second ability. "And by discarding a Nekroz card, Gungnir can destroy one monster on the field." She discarded the Dance Princess of the Nekroz and the Gungnir caster released a blast of ice. "Her target is Super Soldier Soul."

"Nekroz of Gungnir is a good choice. Unfortunately.." Zenshin activated his countertrap. "A good duelist knows to protect his cards. This is Super Soldier Shield. When I control a Black Luster Soldier, it will negate an effect that targets my monsters and destroy the source of the effect!" The soul warrior grabbed a shield with which he deflected the destructive ice. "Ah!" The reflected ice shards rained down on Nekroz of Gungnir, killing her. "I..I.." Alice was shaken, there were no monsters on her field anymore. However that presented another opportunity. "I banish Nekroz Cycle and Dance Princess!" A Nekroz ritual spell could remove itself from the graveyard along with a Nekroz monster, to force a new Nekroz spell out of the deck. "Nekroz Mirror!" Now she had to think about what to ritual summon though. Brionac would be useless against Super Soldier Soul. She had to go higher. "I can discard Brionac for any other Nekroz monster. And I want.. Nekroz of Trishula." The 9th level Nekroz entered her hand. Because Nekroz Mirror could tribute Nekroz monsters in the graveyard, and Shurit was in that graveyard; it would be very easy to complete the ritual for Trishula. "I ritual summon it!"

"Another apt judgment." Nekroz of Trishula the ice knight(9/2700/2000) would banish one card from Zenshins hand, field and graveyard. "But it was too predictable." His other trap was flipped as well. "Super Soldier Rebirth. This is a trap that lets me exchange a Black Luster Soldier on my field, with a different Black Luster Solder in my hand." The Soul whose stole the name of Super Soldier, was sent to the graveyard. The Sacred Soldier(8/3000/2500) in his pure white armor took its place. "Oh no." Alice lost her target on the field. But Nekroz of Trishula would still banish Super Soldier Shield from the graveyard, along with the Polymerization spell card in Zenshins hand. "I... I end my turn." Alas, Trishula was no match for the Sacred soldier and Alice had to leave her unguarded in attack position. She looked defeated, and her friends could tell all the way from the sidelines. "Damn. He couldn't even get to her with two ritual monsters in a row!" Eric cursed. "It's not over yet." Uno insisted. He wanted to believe she had a chance. Except her opponent did not seem to the type to let duels go on for that long.

"Strange. You're markedly different from the duelist I saw yesterday. Do you not share your friends spirit?" Zenshin sighed and drew his next card. "Perhaps you were just not ready yet. Either way, at this point Gateway of Chaos has gathered three spellcounters." The field spell gained those counters when his monsters (Super Soldier, Soldier Soul, Sacred Soldier) went to the graveyard. "By removing all three, I may add a ritual spell to my hand. I naturally choose, Super Soldier Ritual." One component was here for this ritual. Now he would gather the rest. "I activate Advance Draw." He played the draw spell, and tributed his own Sacred Soldier. "By sending a level 7 or higher monster to the graveyard, Advance draw 'draws' twice." Zenshin grabbed two cards. "...Finally I activate the second effects of Super Soldier Soul and Super Soldier Rebirth." Both cards could banish themselves from the grave, and did so. "The Soul monster takes a Knight of Beginning or Evening from the deck. The Rebirth trap takes a Black Luster Soldier from the graveyard." The cards added to his hand were, respectively; Knight of the Beginning and Black Luster Soldier - Supersoldier.

"I activate Super Soldier Ritual!" The ritual began. The altar was set for two young knights; one with silver hair and angelic white armor and the other with bloodred hair and shining black armor. "I tribute Beginning Knight and Evening Twilight Knight. Their combined levels are 8!" The sacrifices walked into the flames which turned black and white. "All to ritual summon Black Luster Soldier the Super Soldier!" The majestic knight(8/3000/2500) of the dark descended from the chaotic altar. "Due to their tributes for a Black Luster ritual, the effects of the Knights are activated and transferred to a the ritual monster! The Evening Knight allows me to banish one card from your hand face-down, until the next turn!" The chaos soldier swung his sword once, removing the last card in Alice's hand. "The other effect allows me to banish one monster you control. The Beginning Knight has the same power." In essence, Super Soldier could banish two of Alice's monsters each turn. "However, the Beginning Knight also allows the summoned ritual monster to attack twice, if its first attack destroyed a monster!" He started the battle phase. "I declare an attack, on Nekroz of Trishula!"

"No..Wait, no!" Alice realized that this destruction to be avoided. "I play Aqua Mirror Cycle. So I can move Trishula back into my deck!" Her trap revealed itself, and drew Trishula into a vortex of water. "Then I get back two water monsters from my graveyard." Aqua Mirror Cycle selected Nekroz of Clausolas and Nekroz of Brionac. "Hng!" After that the Black Luster Supersoldier's attack turned into a direct one. Its sword passed through her body. "Ah. You saw my plan for what it was. It pleases me to see that the fight hasn't left you after all." If Alice had allowed the attack to go through, the Supersoldier would have used its original power to inflict damage equal to its victims attackpoints. It would still get a direct attack afterwards, leading to her losing twice as many lifepoints. "Everyone keeps saying that. That I am strong enough to fight.. but I don't want to see it as a fight. Why can't duels just be about the game?" This duel, despite its less than dire circumstances, was still about more than having fun. It was still about 'surviving' in this world. "Because.. you cannot go through life running from everything. Those that do not want to fight, understand that far better than those that do."

Alice's LP: 3500

 _"Running?"_ Alice thought over his words, as he moved to end his turn. _"Is that.. what I'm doing?"_ She drew her next card. _"Every time something bad happens, I want to be somewhere else. Is that..wrong?"_ Alice looked down at the 'strength' Eric had given her; fusion and synchro cards that waited in her extra deck. She hated the idea of using them at first. _"No.. it's not the cards that scare me, it's not their fault. This is still the same game. It still has the same rules.."_ In this world, there were no distinctions between the colors of cards. Anything could be bad or good, the limits were all in her head. _"All I can do is.. what I'm good at."_ Alice took Nekroz of Brionac from her hand. "I will discard this to put Nekroz of Valkyrus in my hand." She knew what she wanted to do, which ritual monster she would bring out. "And then I banish Nekroz of Brionac and Nekroz Mirror from the graveyard." The second ritual spell used its selfbanishing effect, so that the third could be drawn from the deck. "I take the ritual spell Nekroz Kaleidoscope. And.. and I will play it, to sacrifice Infernoid Tierra in my extra deck and summon two ritual monsters from my hand!" An infernal glow escaped the deck, which soon changed to a clear blue light. The young Nekroz of Clausolas(3/1200/1300) in feathered armor and the black magic warlock Nekroz of Valkyrus(8/2900/1700) arrived at the stage.

"I knew it! I knew she could use them!" Eric declared with pride as he saw the beginning of her comeback. He didn't expect that she would go for his fusion monster first either. "Like I said. This duel could still go anywhere." Uno was happy for her as well, she finally seemed to be focusing on the present. "...?" If only he could say the same. _"Why do I feel like..."_ A tingling crawled through his nerves. _"...someone is looking at me?"_ He caught the glimpse of a retreating shape in the distance of the crowd. "Huh? Did you see something?" Uno was getting Eric worried too. "Maybe. I saw someone stare at us.. me. A girl I think." He was certain. "Again? Wait, you think Silver's here?" Eric panicked. "No. It didn't look like her.. but then.. who could it be?"

(To be Continued in Redux 080: And the Pursuit of Happiness)

 **New Cards used by Alice Brandt  
** Nekroz of Gungnir

-  
Infernoid Tierra

-  
Reinforcement of the Army

 **New Cards used by Zenshin  
** Super Soldier Soul  
Black Luster Soldier - Sacred Soldier  
Beginning Knight  
Evening Twilight Knight

-  
Advance Draw

-  
Super Soldier Shield  
Super Soldier Rebirth


	11. And the Pursuit of Happiness

**Redux 080: And the Pursuit of Happiness**

"Eric..." Uno did something unexpected. He took his pendulum off his neck and gave it to Eric. "Eh? What're you giving me this for? Are you going somewhere?" Alice was still in the middle of her duel, with the conclusion uncertain. "Something does not feel right. If we're in danger, then.." Uno didn't finish that thought. "I'm going to see who that was. I wont take long. Just keep the pendulum in the mean time. You will need it more than me." In case the other Eric returned, this one would need the crystal to stay safe. "I know Alice will do spectacular, it's just... this is something I need to do myself." Uno then disappeared into the crowd. _"Himself?"_ Eric could make neither heads nor tails of this.

Alice's LP: 3500 Zenshin's LP: 8000

At the same time, at the duel, Alice completed her third ritual summon. "I was wondering whether or not you used all three Nekroz spells in your deck, and what you would use to supplement Kaleidoscope if you did. Infernoid Tierra as a tribute, is.. creative." Nekroz Kaleidoscope took its sacrifices from the extra deck to bring out as many Nekroz ritual monsters as possible. "I got it.. from a friend." Through Erics Infernoid Tierra card and its eleven levels, Clausolas(3/1200/1300) and Valkyrus(8/2900/1700) were called out. "I see. But did you have more lined up? You did realize that Clausolas wouldn't work against a ritual monster." Zenshin controlled the Black Luster Supersoldier(8/3000/2500) right now. It wasn't an extra deck monster, so Clausolas could not weaken it. "I did.. I wanted Valkyrus the most." Alice activated the Nekroz spellcasters effect. "He tributes two monsters to draw two cards, Clausolas from my field and Exa from my hand." By tributing Exa, the Enforcer of the Nekroz, Alice could trigger that monsters effect. Exa added one dragon-type Nekroz from the deck to her hand while Valkyrus drew two cards from that same deck. "Exa will give me Nekroz of Decisive Arms."

"Ah." Zenshin saw her strategy now. That Decisive Armor would help her in battle, the draws were just a bonus. _"Hey..."_ One of those cards she drew was a Jar of Avarice. _"That's Liza's card..."_ It was the trap an XYZ-duelist gave her when the two dueled ages ago, to satisfy her guild's ante rule. That was the first time she had to duel for a purpose.. for someone else. _"She said this world would eat me alive. Maybe she was right, but... if I go back now. Where can I go? I have to keep dueling!"_ Alice took a deep breath. "I'll enter my battle phase now. Valkyrus attacks the Super Soldier. And when it does, I activate Decisive Arms." Valkyrus summoned lightning down to his staff and redirected it towards the chaos soldier. The dragonic armor Nekroz added 1000 attackpoints to the warlock(3900/1700) for this one battle. Zenshins ritual monster was no longer the stronger one; it turned to dust on the spot. "Well done. If nothing else, you can at least claim to have landed a hit on me." Zenshin smirked.

Zenshins LP: 7100

"But what happens when the Super Soldier dies?" The destruction of his ritual monster set off a new effect. "A Gaia the Fierce Knight is summoned from my deck! In this time I choose to summon Arisen Gaia the Fierce Knight!" Another Gaia(7/2300/2100) rode in on his dark-blue horse, this one wielded two red spears. _"That's as far as I can go for now.."_ Alice placed two traps down. "I end my turn." It was now that finally the effect of Evening Twilight Knight resolved. The card it banished face-down card returned to Alice's hand. "Well then, can you tell me what happens when I activate Super Soldier Ritual from the graveyard now?" When his turn started, Zenshin banished the soldiers ritual spell. "You.. can special summon another Supersoldier?" Alice predicted. "Correct." Zenshin happened to have that monster in his hand. "The ritual banishes light and dark monsters from my graveyard; the Knights of Beginning and Evening to ritual summon my Soldier!" The black knight of dawn and white knight of twilight combined into chaotic energy once more. A second Black Luster Super Soldier(8/3000/2500) appeared on the field. "And you can use those banished monsters, right?"

"Correct again. Banishing Beginning Knight puts a ritual spell in my hand. Banishing Evening Twilight Knight puts a ritual monster in my hand. I choose.. Chaos Form and Blue Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon!" Zenshin gathered the two sides of the ultimate chaos ritual "Blue-Eyes?!" She gasped. "Indeed. Though the Chaos Form card may summon any Black Luster or Chaos ritual monster, only one reigns supreme! I sacrifice Arisen Gaia on the field and Relinkuriboh in my hand!" Zenshin needed eight level stars to summon his dragon, so Gaia had to be paired with a level 1 Kuriboh-cyborg to start the ritual. "Chaos Form summons the Chaos MAX Dragon!" The blue-eyed white dragon, already impressive in appearance, now appeared as a towering dragon(8/4000/0) whose brilliance filled the arena. "Chaos MAX cannot be targeted or destroyed by card effects. And when it attacks a defending monster, it will pierce through its defense and double the battle damage!" The master then pulled another card from his deck. "When Relinkuriboh is tributed, one card is drawn." Then he placed his fingers on the graveyard. "Finally; when Arisen Gaia the Fierce Knight is tributed, one Black Luster Soldier may be summoned back to the field. The Supersoldier can only be special summoned once a turn. So..."

"Uhm! So you can only summon Sacred Soldier, right?" Alice answered him just as he was about to revive a certain card. "... Correct?" Zenshin didn't get the chance for that, because Alice chained her trap to the effect of Arisen Gaia. "Is it okay if I take it first with Monster Rebone?" It was the continuous trap that took one monster from the opponents graveyard, if that opponent had special summoned his own monster this turn. "I special summon Black Luster Sacred Soldier in defense mode!" The number of monsters on each side of the field had evened out, with Alice as the Soldiers new master. "An unexpected parry. How very interesting. But.." Zenshin activated the spell card Relinkuriboh had drawn for him, his Reinforcement of the Army, and added an Envoy of Chaos warrior from his deck. ".. how much life will you have left after just two attacks?" The master entered his battle phase, beginning the attack with Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX. It fired an array of dazzling bursts from its body, which burned holes through the body of the defending Sacred Soldier. It exploded and Monster Rebone broke apart. "Zero..." Already she lost 3000 lifepoints, because of the doubled piercing damage the dragon inflicted. If the Super Soldier finished off Nekroz of Valkyrus, she would lose another 3000 lifepoints. No Decisive Arms-like tricks would save her this time, the Envoy of Chaos in his hand would add 1500 attackpoints to any battling Black Luster Soldier, while reducing the other monsters attack to its original amount.

Alice's LP: 500

. "That is why.. I am gonna let Sphere Kuriboh help me." Just as the Black knight raised his sword, a plastic Kuriboh ball popped up underneath its feet. "The card that returned?" This was what Zenshin banished from her hand last turn. That's why he didn't see it coming now. "Yeah. When you attack, Sphere Kuriboh puts your monster in defense mode." The mighty soldier stepped on the Sphere and tripped, tumbling backwards into a defensive stance. "A Kuriboh for a Kuriboh. You're the first Nekroz duelist I've ever seen with one of those." It was a fact that put a smile on the masters face. "Good. I end my turn." Her lifepoints were secure for this turn. But against these overwhelming odds, Alice would need more than what she had. "Okay. My turn." The draw phase was not that generous, it only put a Djinn Releaser of Rituals in her hand. She still needed a ritual spell. _"If I had no monsters on my field, I could .. but.. what if it doesn't work out?"_

 _"No. I can't think about that. I can't win if I don't take the risk."_ So she resorted to another effect. "I activate Jar of Avarice." Liza's trap, that would have to be her savior. "I return five cards to my deck to draw one card." Half her grave (Aqua Mirror Cycle, Monster Rebone, Mermail Abysspike, Nekroz of Decisive Arms, Nekroz of Clausolas) was recycled for one spell. "!" It was a beginning. Alice could already see the end. "I activate Nekroz of Valkyrus! I tribute two cards!" Valkyrus tributed the Djinn _and_ itself, so that Alice could draw two cards from the deck. "And I activate Nekroz Kaleidoscope too, I banish it and Nekroz of Valkyrus from my grave. Now I can add Nekroz Mirror to my hand!" Alice kept a few cards in her graveyard for this occasion. "Whoa." This turn she started with nothing and now she had four cards in her hand. "What's she up to?" The spectating duelists honestly couldn't figure out her plan yet, not even Eric. "Is she gonna pull it off?"

"I remember what you said about your dragon, mister Zenshin. It cannot be targeted or destroyed.. but.." Alice activated Nekroz Mirror. "Trishula does not target." She needed sacrifices. The Mirror could already use dead Nekroz monsters, so Exa the Enforcer was the first with its five levels. The level 3 Djinn Releaser and the level 1 Sphere Kuriboh filled out the quota. Both these monsters had effects that allowed them to be tributed from the graveyardfor ritual summons. "I summon Nekroz of Trishula from my hand!" Thus the silverhaired dragon knight(9/2700/2000) returned for round two. "I see." Trishula demanded a card from Zenshins hand, field and graveyard; not even Chaos MAX Dragon was immune to this. It was banished, along with the dead Relinkuriboh and the Chaos Envoy in his hand. "That just leaves the Soldier." He still had the superior monster.. so far. "But.. Exa was banished, so I can use his other effect and special summon another Nekroz that was banished. I choose Shurit the Strategist." Exa assisted the young swordsman(3/300/1800) with the blue and red eyes out of the other dimension back during Trishula's ritual.

"And now.. I will use Preparation of Rites and take a ritual spell back, and a level 7 or lower ritual monster from my deck!" This was what 'Avarice' gained her. The spell of Rites grabbed Nekroz Mirror and Nekroz of Clausolas from the graveyard and deck. "I can discard Clausolas again, to get Nekroz Cycle again. And I will use it, with Shurit acting as the entire sacrifice, for Nekroz of Gungnir!" The Cycle was renewed. Clausolas added a second copy of it to her hand. Then upon its activation, the Strategist on the field gave his life for the the redhaired sorceress(7/2500/1700) in the graveyard. "Sorry, but your soldier is gone too." Alice knew that he did not need to be reminded of this monsters effect. By discarding the Nekroz Mirror card from her hand, she could destroy one of his monsters. Gungnir waved her scepter around to turn Black Luster Soldier to ice and shatter his body. "And due to the effect of your Djinn Releaser, I cannot summon a Gaia Knight at this time." All of Zenshins special summons were sealed while Trishula, the monster that the Djinn was sacrificed for, still lived. He was wide open.

"Just wait a little longer." And since Shurit had been tributed, Alice could add a warrior Nekroz card from her deck to her hand. "I will take another Exa. Want to know how I am going to summon him?" Right now she needed a tribute, as it was level 5 monster. However.. "With... the Legendary Ocean!" Alice activated her field spell, drowning her side of the field in water and letting ancient ruins rise to the surface. "Now all my water monsters have 1 less level." Trishula(8/2900/2200) and Gungnir(6/2700/1900) dropped one level star, while gaining 200 attack and defense points. So did the monster in her hand. "Ta-da." She could normal summon Exa(42200/1200), free of charge. "Flawless." A field like that could ease the costs for Nekroz ritual summons greatly. And Alice wasn't even using the Ocean for that. "Yeah. Now I am where I want to be. Mister Zenshin.. I'm attacking you now." Exa with its claws, Trishula with his sword and Gungnir with her staff; the dragon/warrior/caster trio delivered their fatal attacks on Zenshin to end the duel. "Oops. No, should I be calling you master Zenshin now?"

Zenshins LP: 0

"Aha.. I wouldn't be concerned about that. Think more about what has happened here." A loud horn sounded, to advertise the news of Alice's victory across the academy. "You are a part of this school now. And I, as a master, personally welcome you." He shook her hand with both his hands. "Oh. Thank you! I don't really know what to say.. Do I have to do something now?" She was never sure where things went from here. The duel was the part she knew the best. "Oh, you will just need to a sign a few online forms. But you can do so at your own leisure. The process is already largely automatic. Your dueldisk and your cards were registered to the network, and since you defeated a Scale 9 duelist, you have immediately been promoted to Scale 3." The kind of jargon Zenshin was giving her sorta made sense, when she compared it to that system the guilds had. But that usually went over her head. "Oh..I get it. Like Pendulum scales." She at least got the joke behind calling it 'Scales' now. "So, what do you intend to do now that you've joined the academy?"

"I am gonna tell aaaall my friends about it until they're sick of it!" She answered with a big wide grin. "Oh yes, that is right. Your friend had a duel scheduled with me too. I suppose he is next in line." Zenshin looked over her shoulder. "But he doesn't seem to be here now." Alice turned around. "What?" Zenshin was right, Uno wasn't standing besides Eric anymore. "Oh, maybe he was hungry and had to find a snackmachine?" Alice suggested, to Zenshin and to herself. "I'll check." She bowed to the master one more time and ran off the stage. "See, what did I tell you? You always show them who's the boss!" Eric chuckled, forgetting the situation momentarily due to his excitement. "Thanks.. But I couldn't have done it without your help. By the way.. do you know where Uno is?" She wanted to be happier at a time like this. But she could only imagine unfavorable reasons for Uno's absence. "Oh. He said something about some girl stalking him, or something. He went to go check it out. I doubt he's gonna stay gone much longer." He stated. He was surprised Uno hadn't returned already. "A girl? That's strange.. but you're right. I am sure he will come back soon."  
...

But he didn't. Uno did not return in time for his duel with Zenshin, or after that. It got to the point where Alice asked Zenshin for help with looking for him. And he wanted to be of assistance, yet neither duelist or teacher had seen him inside the building. The network indicated he left right as Alice won her duel, and could not track him that well after that since he did not have a registered ID yet. All they could do was wait outside the academy to see if he would return. The city was so big, they did not have an idea of where to start looking. "This can't be good. What if someone got to him?" Alice was picturing the worst, seeing flashes of the Inquisitor. "Uno said that this person didn't look like Silver though." Eric tried to re-assure her, even though he never got a good look at this mystery person himself. "What if he didn't think he was coming back. What if he gave you the pendulum because... because.. Hey it's doing something!" Alice pointed a faint light in the crystal around Erics neck.. "Yaah! Why? You think it's telling us about Uno?" Eric didn't feel much for carrying it around anymore. "No. It did that when you showed up near.. the other Eric!"

A van drove up the streets. "It's Adamant and Iria.. and.." It stopped in front of the building, three duelists came out. "What happened? Where is.." Stonewell did not take it well when he saw that Tory was not with them. "What did you do to her?" His first instinct was to go after Eric. "Whoa hey calm down!" Eric raised his arms to defend himself, but Adamant grabbed Stonewell by the shoulder first. "Do not make a scene here. What would people think if they saw two of you?" They were already getting funny looks from a few duelists. "Do you think I care?" Stonewell only heeded his advice a little, as he stayed in the shadow of the van. "What happened? Tell me!" He still wanted answers. "It was.. Iria.. the other Iria." Alice couldn't even talk about it without shuddering. "The Inquisitor." The disciple Iria did not like what she heard. "She uh.. met us when we woke up, took one of your friends. Tory stayed behind to keep her company while giving us a chance to get away." Eric managed to explain it, and in a way that wouldn't sound suspect to any passerby who could catch parts of the conversation. "Silver.. found us? How?!" Stonewell looked at Alice now. "It was.." Though she flinched, she remembered what Tory had been told. "The templars cards. They were marked."

"No." Hearing this, Stonewell slumped against the van. "The cards? My cards?" Taking the Igknights had been his idea, he was the one who dueled Iria with them. "It's all my fault. And now she is.. they are.." At this point Iria came to a grave realization. "Where is Uno?"

...

In truth Uno had planned to meet with the others again as soon as he heard the announcement of Alice's victory in the background. He was only halfway through the academy's front yard.. But then he got those strange goosebumps again. This time he got a better image of the source, a dark-haired girl in what appeared to be a purple poncho-coat. It was too little; something compelled him to keep chasing her. He forgot himself and his friends for that moment and gave chase, following a trail of frequent glimpses here and there. It was almost as if she was trying to lead him somewhere. Was it a trap? His heart did not think so. This was something else, a nostalgic sensation. For the first time since he got back here, he felt like he knew where he was going. That stopped when he came to a small funfair in the middle of the city though. He lost her, she'd vanished behind a carousel and..

"Uno?"

Showed up again right behind him. "!?" He stood face to face with this girl and her purple eyes, her long hair that curled outwards at the back, her bloodred headband ornament that made it look as if a cross had pierced her head... Why did all of this agitate his mind, make his emotions swell. "You.. how do you know that name?"

(To be Continued in Redux 079: Tell me about Yourself)

 **New Cards used by Alice Brandt  
** Sphere Kuriboh

-  
Jar of Avarice

 **New Cards used by Zenshin  
** Arisen Gaia the Fierce Knight  
Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon  
Relinkuriboh  
Envoy of Chaos

-  
Chaos Form  
Reinforcement of the Army


	12. Tell Me about Yourself

**Redux 79: Tell Me about Yourself**

"All of that happened? And you still went ahead to duel in the academy?" Iria did not know which emotion she felt more after she received the full story from Alice and Eric; anger or dread. "It is a good thing that you went through with it, Alice. And I am pleased to hear about your victory." Adamant knew what he felt; pride and perhaps a little joy too. "Thanks!" Alice was surprised to hear those words from him but she gladly took them. "We do not have time for celebrations, Adamant." The disciple hissed. Finding out that your temporal double was chasing you was a good reason for paranoia. "I understand. But Alice's victory is fortuitous for other reasons. Now we have unlimited access to the network. While Uno may not be online right now, we know which dueldisk he is using." They would see him as soon as he was dueling. "We can not wait for that. We should start searching now." Iria would rather prevent a duel. "Then we could split up!" Alice said. "Agreed. We cover more ground that way. Alice and me will take the outskirts, you and Eric may search the nearby areas."

"Which Eric are you talking about?" Stonewell coughed. "Uh.." He and Eric spent the last few minutes staring at each other, ever since Alice told the others what happened. "What makes you so sure I will help you?" He started to move away from the van. "You're just going to ditch us?" Eric shouted. "Uno is your friend, your business. I have my own. Besides, I still don't trust you people." It sounded like he _was_ ditching them. "Even after we told you what.. wait.. wait!" Eric tried to block him, but the pendulum around his neck flashed again. "Tch." Eric could not risk physical contact if it was doing that. "Listen to me. I think I know what you're feeling. You're feeling guilty, so .." So he tried to appeal to what he thought made sense. "You do not know anything, you with your perfect life and perfect world! You're nothing like me, so stay out of my way!" It didn't work. Stonewell ran away. "Great. I screwed that up." Eric groaned. "Let him go for now. We can't help anyone who doesn't want our help." Iria said dismissively.

...

"Uh, I asked you something." Who was this girl? She called out his name and now she was just gazing longingly at him, bobbing her head from left to right. "Don't tell me you were just counting up in spanish. I me.." Then a hand emerged from the mantle of her coat, and planted itself right in his face. "Okay." Uno nudged it aside. "You're gonna have to give me something here." He was at the funfair, and he was in no mood for fun. "you are him, but you are not. your name is... Uno?" She finally deigned him worthy enough to speak to again, using a floaty distant tone. "That's what I call myself... Hold the phone.. you know someone named UNO? As in Uno with all capitol letters?" Had his bait caught someone? Had he found someone who would be familiar with the original UNO? "i knew _an_ Uno once. but I do not understand. you remind me of him, while you don't appear as him. when I stare into your eyes, I do not see what I could see in his eyes. you do not recognize me." She concluded dejectedly and pulled her hand back. " _who_ are you?" She asked.

"I... don't know. I don't know my name, I just remember hearing the name Uno once, and I know he's here somewhere." This girl was on to something, that was clear. She could have some answers, or all of them. "Listen.. does any of this sound familiar? Pendulum crystalss, timetravel, December, Tempus, amnesia, Dom, Prophecy sisters." So he just rattled off keywords and watched her closely for reactions. The girl's eyes widened immediately as she mouthed one of the words silently. Uno could not tell which one. "do you have.. the pendulum?" Apparently that was the subject that stuck out to her. "Yes I.. wait, no! Shoot!" Of all times he had left it with Eric now! For good reasons, but still! "I had one! I can get it if you let me!" Uno activated his dueldisk. He knew his friends would find him this way. "was i mistaken." Unfortunately the mystery girl was shaking her head; never a good sign. "Wait. I can explain, I can.. It's this small, hangs around my neck!" Perhaps describing it was enough. "you are with others. i shouldn't have come here." She turned away from him. "Nonono!" As easily as she snuck up on him, she escaped his sight. "Gahhh!"

...

"He's activated his dueldisk." Iria spotted the new blip on the tracker right away, it was the only unregistered account in the area. "He's at that funfair." Eric recognized the area; he, Alice, and Uno went through it this morning. "But of course he is." The disciple groaned. At least they were headed in the right direction. "Guess we didn't need this. " Eric held up the pendulum. "Tho.. why is it still turned on?" A faint light lingered inside the crystal. "Stonewell walked in the other direction, didn't he? And Uno said.." He looked at Iria. ".. that it only reacts to two counterparts getting too close." And if it was not his counterpart. "Oh boy..."

...

Suddenly, while Uno stewed in his own incomprehension, the fair around him decided to stop being 'fun'. "Whah?" The carousels ceased to spin, the ferris wheel unloaded its passengers, the haunted house was evacuated. Everyone was in a hurry to get out. "Say." And before Uno could follow the crowd, one person walked back in. "I have a question." It was the other, Inquisitor Iria Silver.

Deja Vu; this was the second time someone blindsided him. "Uh.. what would that be?" She had done it so effectively, that he couldn't even react any other way than anxious. "Where would a duelist get cards like Odd. Eyes. Pendulum. Dragon?" She 'inquired'. Silver was undeniably here for him. "Odd-Eyes? Never heard of it." The Pendulum dragon was not on the official card list. But Uno thought that if he kept cards like that out of his dueldisk, that they wouldn't be detected again. "It is a crime to lie to an officer of the law." He was wrong. "I know what you are." Silver already passed judgment. The next step was clear. "And you have a choice, come quietly.. or.." She activated her dueldisk. _"Damn it."_ She had him in a bind. If he gave in, Silver would search him and find the card anyway. "Not much of a choice, Inquisitor." So he might as well give up the act and fight back with everything he had. He took all of his Odd-Eyes cards and inserted them in the disk.

Silver's LP: 8000 Uno's Lp: 8000

"A goodie, a duel it is." The two drew their cards, Silver looking pleased with his choice. "You duelists always pick the second option. It's funny to see them put so much hope in their cards." And the Inquisitor claimed the first turn. The network almost always gave her the first turn. "No. That is the wrong word." She flashed a wry grin. "It is pathetic." She activated the spell Amorphage Infection and placed the pendulum monster Amorphage Lechery (scale 5) on the left zone. "Rgh." Thanks to Lechry's effect, Uno would not be able to use any of his spell cards as soon an Amorphage was summoned. "That fear.. You seem familiar with these cards. Like a sinner would be. Tell me; is your sin the pride you have for your cards?" Amorphage Pride, a green-scaled dragon(4/1750/0) with the second head of an eagle, was normal summoned. Due to Amorphage Infection the seventh sin dragon(2050/300) gained 100 attack and defense points from all three Amorphage cards on the field. After that her turn was ended.

"I had a chance to admire your work." Uno was forced to keep his cards hidden, setting one monster and one trap card. He however did not feel like hiding what he knew. "So it was you who was on the other line, who the woman gave her life for." The Inquisitor smirked. "You mean Tory. That was her name." He stated before ending his turn. "Was it? Well have you ever heard anyone mention Benedict Winslow or Patricia Connor in passing?" The names she dropped only drew a puzzled expression from Uno. "Exactly. It's the same for 'Tory', you and anyone else who tries to defy Millennium." The Inquisitor drew her next card. "... I tribute Pride to maintain Lechery." The cost for her pendulum spell took the life of the eagle dragon. But a tribute satisfied the trigger for Amorphage Infection's second effect; letting her add Amorphage Greed from her deck to her hand. "You had a window of opportunity to get away, but you stayed within city limits. You also had an opportunity to break the lock, and you let that slip away too." She placed Amorphage Greed (scale 3) in the other pendulum zone. "Your friend wasted her life for nothing! Now _that_ is funny."

"I Pendulum Summon Amorphage Pride and Wrath!" Pride was summoned out of the extra deck, and the Wrathful wolfdragon(4/1650/0) flew out of Silver's hand. With two more Amorphage cards on her field, the Infection spell had 500 attackpoints to pass on to Pride(2250/500) and Wrath(2050/500). Meanwhile Lechery and Greed sealed Uno's spells _and_ traps. "So which one is the first to die?" Iria ordered the first attack and Amorphage Wrath sank its teeth and claws into Uno's set monster. A helpless trio of singing parakeet birds(3/500/500) was torn to pieces. "Hmmhmm, you got the wrong sins, Inquisitor! When the Performapal Parrotrio is destroyed, they summon a non-pendulum Performapal from my deck in attack position!" Uno called out the best pal for the job, the boatswan insect Performapal Skeeter Skimmer(4/500/1600). "You should have gone for whatever sin negates monster effects!" He suspected that Silver would go for Amorphage Greed with the effect of Infection. She couldn't have known that his face-down monster was the real threat.

"You bought yourself a turn. That is all your friend was good for as well. It makes me wonder if there's still more to come, more friends in hiding." Silver did not even continue her battle phase, as she knew it would be pointless to send Amorphage Pride after Skeeter Skimmer. The insect could negate one attack by switching itself to defense mode. "And there are more, aren't there?" She asked as she placed one trap card down and passed the turn to Uno. "I already fooled you once. You wouldn't trust my answer either way, Silver." Uno might have given his identity away, but he would be damned if he let this woman get anywhere near Alice or Eric. "By the way. If you will humor a little lecture, I want to say what I noticed about the way you duel." He jovially stated as he inspected the next card he drew. "Oh do go on." Silver didn't really care. There was almost nothing a deck like his could do to get out of her Greed/Lechery lock now. "You tend to expect the best of your opponents. That's why you didn't expect Tory to use something like Doomdonuts. Like I know most duelists these days min/max their decks until they are absolutely perfect, but.. that is not really my style. I have so many Performapals, and I want to give each of them a role in my act."

"What is your point?" She was no longer amused. "My point is.. Performapal Trampolynx!" He normal summoned a purple striped cat(2/300/300). "Trampolynx?!" There were countless Performapal cards in this world, and Trampolynx was universally agreed upon to be one of the weakest in the series. Uno had to be the only Performapal duelist on the planet who would put it in his deck. "A normal summoned Trampolynx bounces a card out of any one pendulum zone!" The Lynx bumped into Amorphage Lechery with his trampoline body and forced the pendulum monster back into Silver's hand. "Rgh!" The spell-negator was gone, Uno was free to set his scales. "Scale 1 Performapal Monkeyboard! Scale 6 Performapal Lizardraw!" And he did it with glee. "Now that I've set Monkeyboard, I can add one Performapal from my deck to my hand!" The monkey played his keyboard instrument and its music lured out a Performapal Salutiger card. "And now.. my pendulum summon!" Uno called two Pals from his hand in attack position, the Saluting Salutiger(4/1700/500) and Performapal Springoose(5/1100/2400). "Am I still wasting Tory's sacrifice?"

"Don't need to answer that yet! The show's barely begun!" Uno played another spell. "Since you killed the funfair, I'll make my own stage. I activate Performapal Dramatic Theater!" A circustent was thrown around the two duelists. "It's kinda like your card. My monsters gain 200 attackpoints for each unique type among them." He had four types of Performapals now; the insect Skeeter Skimmer(1300/1600), the beast Trampolynx(1100/300), the winged beast Springoose(1900/2400) and the beastwarrior Salutiger(2500/500). They all gained 800 attackpoints. "I do not recognize this card... yet the dueldisk does." The Inquisitor was, again, perturbed. "I guess you wouldn't. Because this is one of those Odd-eyes cards that you are coming after me for. See, when I control four differently typed Performapals.." Uno dramatically pulled a card from his deck. "I can summon an Odd-Eyes monster from my deck!" He summoned Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon(7/2500/2000) in attack position. The dragonic type of Odd-Eyes added 200 additional attackpoints to the pals (Skimmer: 1500 atk, Trampolynx: 1300 atk, Springoose: 2500 atk, Salutiger: 2700 atk) in the Dramatic Theater and to itself(3500/2000). "So there it is. Whatever strings did you pull to get your hands on that dragon?" This was the one card that did not belong.

"Some guy called UNO gave it to me. Then he gave me a printer that let me make whatever cards I wanted. I lost the printer though." Uno didn't care if she knew the truth, it helped her about as much as him. "Uno..?" Silver was surprisingly not upset with that answer. "...You know it'd be nice if you could quid pro quo some of my questions too. Aside from me having an unregistered disk, how did you find me?" That had to help, but it couldn't have been what made her track down Odd-Eyes. "You had a duel beforehand, outside the city. The templar that investigated the scene was destroyed and its footage lost. But the duel records stand, so any Performapal duelist would be my target. You and your friends clearly do not realize that no duel in this world is hidden from us, whether you go online or not." That was after all how she found Tory as well, because Stonewell dueled the other Iria. "So that's how. Well, if you know so muh." Uno entered his battle phase. "You'll know how this will go too!" Odd-Eyes lobbed a fireball in the direction of Amorphage Pride(2150/400). "Amorphage Lysis!" And Silver countered with a continuous trap which weakened Odd-Eyes(3000/2000) just as his blast blew up the Pride dragon(2250/500). "!?"

Iria's LP: 6500

"Amorphage Lysis subtracts 100 attack and defense-points from my opponents monsters for each Amorphage card on my field." Before she had five, so Odd-Eyes lost out on 500 attackpoints. At least the dragon still doubled the battle damage it dished out with its attack. "Well, it's your move then Salutiger!" Now she only had four. Four to weaken the attacking Tiger(2300/100) and four to power up the attacked Amorphage Wrath(2050/400) through Amorphage Infection. The tiger still won the fight, leaving her with three Amorphage cards. "Salutiger adds a pendulum Performapal to my hand, when he destroys a monster. So..." Uno added Performapal Skullcrobat Joker. "Now the rest can have a taste of her too!" Skeeter Skimmer(1200/1300), Trampolynx(1000/0) and Springoose(1800/2100) all pounced on her. Despite the holograms being physical in a duel like this, the one-eyed woman seemed utterly unbothered by three direct attacks. "Hrm.. Lizardraw, do you thing." Uno tributed the Lizard pendulum while it was scaled next to another Performapal, so that it could draw a card from his deck. He gained an actual trap this time around. "I set a card. That was my turn."

Iria's LP: 2150

"Heh. You missed your shot again! How sad." Silver drew her card. "Did I?" Now Amorphage Greed would have to destroy itself, as she had nothing to tribute for it. "Keep watching." Amorphage Lysis and Infection activated as a result of this destruction effect. "When an Amorphage in the pendulum zone is destroyed, my continuous trap can set another!" Silver placed a second Amorphage Greed as soon as the first melted into a puddle of goo. Meanwhile Amorphage Infection chained to the destruction of the first and added an Amorphage Goliath card to Silver's hand. "And I reset Amorphage Lechery from my hand." The two sins were back to reset the lock. "Well, you're gonna be mad after this then." Except right now, Uno could still activate traps. "Countertrap, Unwavering Bond! Your pendulum monster's activation is negated and it is banished!" The trap removed the Lechery demon from the pendulum zone. "What?" She didn't expect anti-pendulum cards either. "Not your fault. I just met a lot of pendulum users lately." Uno chuckled.

"Uno!" At this point, Eric and Iria finally caught up with the duelists, breaking into the theater tent. "Oh.. I didn't think your allies would willingly throw themselves on the line for you. But there..." Her eyes were quickly drawn to her walking reflection. "So we meet at last." Iria saw herself and vice versa. "Is.. this your little rebellions idea of a joke?" Silver did not know how to react, but her mind formed a theory. "You believe you can bring me down and replace me?" In this world where facial reconstruction had developed so far that it was a luxury for the rich, the first thought of anyone would be to assume that this was someone who had simply modified her face. "No. It's not like that! She's you! From another dimension!" The truth that Eric gave was simply too ludicrous to believe. "Silence." Silver snapped her fingers and two Templars flew in from above. "You will not succeed." The drones were set to guard-mode. If Eric and Iria wanted to help Uno, the drones would interfere. "Guys. You shouldn't have come. I can handle this by myself." Uno shouted. "We came because we thought we could talk sense into her." Iria grumbled. Sadly her counterpart was as stubborn as Eric's.

"You're very close to your friends, _Uno_. I suppose you were right." Iria filled the empty pendulum zone with Amorphage Gluttony, a blank-eyed grey dragon fused with a parasitic fly. Amorphage Infection claimed this card back in Uno's turn, when he destroyed Amorphage Pride. "Gluttony fits you better; your hunger for friends is as great as your hunger for cards. So like you requested, let's negate your monsters effects from now on instead."

(To be Continued in Redux 078: Desire on Display)

 **New Cards used by Uno  
** Performapal Parrotrio  
Performapal Trampolynx

-  
Unwavering Bond

 **New Cards used by Inquisitor Silver  
** Amorphage Pride  
Amorphage Gluttony

-  
Amorphage Lysis


	13. Desire on Display

**Redux 78: Desire on Display**

"Mr. Adamant... Why did you want me to go with you?" Alice suddenly found herself wondering this out loud, while she and Adamant were driving through the streets to look for Uno. "You and I are the only ones with no counterparts here. We don't need the protection of the pendulum." Adamant explained in his usual serious manner. "Is that all?" She'd hoped for less of a 'logical' reason. Adamant didn't do a lot of talking either. "Are you sure you're the only Adamant? You look.. uhm.. older than most of your guild." The older you were, the more chance you had of being born in both timelines. That's what she remembered. "My age is nineteen." He flatly revealed. "Oh! I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to.. And I am not asking because of.." She stumbled for an apology. This got awkward. "I know you didn't. You are just curious, like I once was." The duelist sighed. "Once I wondered what it would be like to meet my other self. But I now know that he does not exist here. Either he died or he was never born." He looked back and saw Alice stare at him with those big eyes of hers. "Don't feel sorry for me. My destiny was simply not the same as his. All I can do is make sure that others have a destiny of their own."

...

Silver's LP: 2150 Uno's LP: 8000

Uno was in the lead, with five monsters on his field to counter her empty field.  
So why didn't it feel like he was winning?

"I pendulum summon!" It might have been the fault of Amorphage Greed (scale 3) and Amorphage Gluttony (scale 5) who were negating his traps and monster effects. "Amorphage Greed, Pride, Wrath!" Or the fact that his opponent could easily regain her lost pendulum monsters, Amorphage Pride(4/2450/700), Greed(4/700/2650) and Wrath(4/2350/700), from the extra deck. "I tribute summon Amorphage Goliath." None of his monsters could match her, not now that she tributed Greed and Wrath for the great dragon; Amorphage Goliath(8/3350/600). Meanwhile Amorphage Infection powered up all her monsters while Amorphage Lysis powered his monsters down. Six Amorphage cards added 600 attack and defense points to Goliath and Pride(4/2350/600). "Attack Performapal Springoose and Salutiger!" Six Amorphages took 600 points away from the targets. Goliath trampled Uno's warrior tiger(4/2100/0) and Pride slaughtered the springbodied goose(5/1300/1800). Thankfully Performapal Dramatic Theater had been giving them some power in return. But that boost decreased each time a type of monster left Uno's field. Right now the attack decreases and increases evened out; as only only Odd-Eyes(7/2500/1400), Performapal Trampolynx(2/300/0) and Skeeter Skimmer(4/500/1000) remained.

Uno's LP: 5700

"Whatever your goals are, you will not distract me from this duel." All this time Silver's eyes were on her counterpart; the disciple Iria. "We have no goals but to preserve our world. Does your government know nothing about this, about another world that is threatened by yours?" The other Iria knew that _someone_ on this side managed to discover the other side, someone besides UNO. "If I had, I wouldn't share such information with the likes of you." But the Inquisitor was acting obtuse, deliberately perhaps. "I will determine for myself the validity of your words, once I have apprehended and examined you." Silver placed a spell card down and ended the turn. "I will pass. I have seen how you 'examine' people." Normally Iria would be willing to cooperate, but she couldn't do much as a prisoner.. or a card. "You have at least gotten my voice down." The Inquisitor was a little weirded out, but not enough to stop the fight.

"Well, how about we do the opposite; I defeat you and you work with us!?" Uno proposed as he drew his card. "As if you can." Silver chuckled. "Oh I have my ways with people." He normal summoned a Performapal, the Skullcrobat Joker(4/1800/100). Already he(1200/0) was powerdrained by Amorphage Lysis. "Do you? Then what is this now? You know you cannot use that card's effect." Amorphage Gluttony blocked the Joker's ability to search Performapals in the deck. But that was not why Uno summoned him. "It's called a band. And this one needed at least three members." No traps or monster effects, but spells.. were back on the table. "I activate Performance Hurricane! Each Performapal on my field can return one card to your hand!" Skullcrobat Joker, Skeeter Skimmer and Trampolynx grabbed some instruments and played their music. "Hit it!" The musical storm that arose affected three of her cards. Amorphage Lysis, Goliath and Pride were blown off the field. "Kgeh!" Without Lysis on the field, Uno's Performapals regained their lost points. And more importantly, Uno could activate monster effects again.

"Go go go Springoose!" First Uno banished the spring bird from his graveyard, to bounce two pendulum performapals from his field back to his hand. "I take the Skullcrobat Joker and Monkeyboard in my pendulum zone! Then I will reset them both as spells!" Monkeyboard returned to the zone he had sprung out of. The Joker claimed the other side. As Uno reactivated Monkeyboard, he could grab a new Performapal from his deck; Performapal Splashmammoth. "Now you might be thinking I'm going to pendulum summon again. You'd be going too fast. First.." He reached into his extra deck. "I will special summon Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon by tributing a beast monster and a dark-dragon! Call it a free fusion!" Trampolynx the cat(900/300) and Odd-Eyes the dragon(3100/2000) were thrown into a purple vortex, to create the bone-covered beastly dragon(8/3000/2000). "It has been a while, hasn't it?" He claimed while his dragon(3400/2000) powered up thanks to the theater and filled the area with roars. "Now there's illegitimate fusions too?" Silver rasped.

"You got that right! Want to see another!?" The fusion materials were now in the extra deck, which meant.. "Pendulum summon part two!" Uno could re-summon Odd-Eyes Pendulum(3500/2000), along with Performapal Lizardraw(3/2200/600) and his newest card; a pink elephant(6/2900/2300) with long mop-like hair. All were in attack mode. "From the hand comes Splashmammoth! This guy can start a fusion between himself and another monster, without fusion spells! And there is one dragon who can be made with Odd-Eyes and any pendulum monster. And that is Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon!" The mammoth activated its power, spraying water all over itself and Odd-eyes with its trunk. The two monsters disappeared into the pool and merged into one. Odd-Eyes Vortex the green dragon(8/3300/3000) of negation was recreated. "Awesome, two fusions in one turn!" Eric saw no way Silver could save herself now, not when Vortex Dragon could negate the activation of cards once each turn.

"Heh." But Vortex Dragon was too late. Silver's face-down spell was flipped before Vortex Dragon hit the field. "Scapegoat?!" It was the quickplay spell that created four sheep tokens(1/0/0) of different colors. They were summoned in defense position naturally. "Did you think I wouldn't see it coming the second time? I don't know how the info got there, but the network is now showing information on your fusions." One second told her all she needed to know on how to avoid Vortex's powers. "Someone put that info up? Rgh!" Uno shouldn't have shown off with a second fusion. "Well then.." He couldn't let those tokens stay around as tributes for her pendulums either. "I will attack all four!" Performapal Lizardraw(2000/600) and Skeeter Skimmer(1300/1600) pummeled down the red and blue sheep. Odd-Eyes Vortex incinerated the yellow one up with a thunder blast. Beast-Eyes(3800/2000) swallowed the pink one whole. "When Beast-Eyes destroys a monster, he does damage equal to its beast-material's original attackpoints." The spirit of Trampolynx dropped by to snarl at Silver for an extra 500 points of damage. "Then.. I end my turn."

Silver's LP: 1650

"I thought that would never end." Silver scoffed and drew her card. The sight of it brought a toothy grin to her face. "Then again.." Her standby phase followed. With nothing to tribute, her Gluttony/Greed pendulums decayed and died. Consequently, Amorphage Infection responded to the destruction. "I use Infection to claim another Amorphage Gluttony from my deck." She placed that gluttonous dragon in one pendulum zone. "Not so fast! Vortex negates it!" Uno countered with his fusion monster. It returned Trampolynx from the extra deck to the main deck, to cancel out Gluttony's activation and send it to the graveyard. "Yes, as I knew you would. You had no choice." Her smile was still there. "But you will get one soon." She revealed another spell; Draco Face-Off. "With this spell, one pendulum Dracoverlord and one pendulum Dracoslayer are selected from the deck." The Inquisitor chose Lector Pendulum the Dracoverlord and Luster Pendulum the Dracoslayer. "You may choose, at random, which one is given to me. I may either summon that card, or set it as a pendulum spell. The card not chosen is added to the extra deck, face-up. So choose wisely." She held up both cards with their backs towards Uno.

"Choose?" He had no idea which was which, or which one was worse. Both were scale 3 pendulums. Lector Pendulums spell effect would negate the effects of all of Uno's pendulum monsters. Luster Pendulum would let her move more pendulum monsters into the extra deck. "Left." Iria urged. "No, right!" Eric insisted. They were not certain either. "Nhh.. Left!" So he went with his first instinct. "Good!" Iria saw that it wasn't Luster pendulum that he picked. So it went into the extra deck. "Good indeed." To Uno's surprise, she did not even use Lector as a scale. She special summoned the dark dracoknight(4/1950/0) in attack mode. "I normal summon the pendulum monster; Rescue Hamster." Then a hardhat-wearing hamster(4/500/100) hobbled into the theater. "What the.." This cute critter seemed totally out of place in her deck. "After I tribute this monster I can target one pendulum monster in my extra deck and summon two of the same from my main deck. But their effects will be sealed. I choose Amorphage Wrath." The Rescuing pendulum monster poofed away, making room for the two remaining Dragons of Wrath(4/1950/300). Once that was all done, she placed Amorphage Pride (scale 3) and Goliath (scale 5) from her hand in the red and blue pendulum zones. "Pendulum! Summon!"

Luster Pendulum the Dracoslayer(4/1850/0) and Rescue Hamster were special summoned from the extra deck. "Why is she summoning those two?!" Eric scratched his head. Even with the powerboosts from Amorphage Infection, the Amorphages could not defeat all his monsters or deplete his lifepoints this turn. Silver had plenty of Amorphages in her extra deck. "What is she up too?" Uno was worried too, the Inquisitor was doing this for a reason. "Don't tell me.." Only Iria realized her intent. "At least one you has some wits." Silver snatched both Luster Pendulum and one Amorphage Wrath. "Synchro! Summon!" Those two monsters, were tuned to form one. "Synchro?! That means.. Luster Pendulum was a tuner monster!" Uno overlooked that part of the Dracoslayer's text. It was a tuner that could only be used as a material for Dracoslayers. "I summon Ignister Prominence the Blazing Dracoslayer!" Luster transformed into a masked blonde-haired dragon knight(8/2850/0), he carried heavy weaponry and wore fierce red armor. "It looks like an Igknight." Eric stammered.

"But of course. I am a director of Templars, their image is reflected in my greatest monsters. Would you like to see Ignister's effect? It allows me to summon one Dracoslayer from my deck when it is synchro summoned, though that monster may not be used for synchro summons and it is summoned in defense mode. My choice is Master Pendulum the Dracoslayer!" Ignister created a path flanked by flames and a dragon paladin(4/1950/0) in gold and white armor flew in on that path. "That's why you only summoned Amorphages who had their effects negated! So you could summon from the extra deck!" Pendulum summoned Amorphages would negate extra-deck summons of anything else. These Wraths could not even do that. "But of course, again. You people do like to state the obvious." The Inquisitor tapped the second Amorphage Wrath and Master Pendulum, dragging one on top of the other. "Wait, you can't be.." She was attaching them. "Oh but I can.. Uno. XYZ! Summon! Majester Paladin, the Soaring Dracoslayer!" Two level 4 pendulum monsters were the materials necessary for this rank 4 dragon-paladin(4/1850/2000) who rode a very familiar majestic unicorn.

"Majespecters." The wind-Templar archetype was represented through XYZ-summon. If there were any more, Iria wouldn't know about it. "Majester Paladin can summon one Dracoslayer from the extra deck by detaching one of its XYZ-materials. That monster cannot be used for XYZ-summons. I choose, Luster Pendulum!" The soaring slayer used up its Master Pendulum-material. Earlier, the tuner dracoslayer was added to the extra deck after the first synchro summon. It was ready to be summoned back. "No.." And there was no rule that said you could only use one Ignister each turn. "Yes." The Inquisitor synchronized the resummoned Luster Pendulum and Rescue Hamster to synchro summon a second Prominence Dracoslayer(8/2850/0). "Very much." The second Ignister's effect special summoned a second Luster Pendulum(4/1950/0) from her deck. "And then!" She twisted the Luster Dracoslayer together with Lector Pendulum the Dracoverlord. "Fusion! Summon! Dinoster Power, the Mighty Dracoslayer!"

One dracoslayer and one pendulum combined into one fusion monster. A water-elemental dragon(8/2000/2950) in mechanical blue armor. This archetype they hadn't encountered yet. "Dinoster summons one Dracoslayer from my hand or graveyard. Of course, that monster cannot be used for fusion summons. I choose Master Pendulum." The previously detached slayer was reborn to fill in the last zone on the Inquisitors side. "But his monsters are still stronger!" Eric insisted. "Strength is not just a number, brat." Silver laughed as she double-tapped both her synchros. "Ignister Prominence may destroy one pendulum card on my field, to destroy a card of my enemy!" The two Blazing Dracoslayers burned Amorphage Goliath and Pride down and absorbed the flames. The refocused energy was unloaded upon Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Performapal Skeeter Skimmer. They screamed as they vanished in a blaze of dragonfire, leaving just two. "When a monster is destroyed, Lizardraw can draw one card for each Performapal on my field!" Only that effect could save Uno now, and he could only draw one card once.

"And was it worth it?" The Inquisitor asked him her final question. "..." What he drew could not save him. The battle phase was upon him. "Well look at that, you have nothing to say for once. Marvelous." The attack from the first Ignister Prominence reduced Performapal Lizardraw(1600/600) to a pile of ashes. "I know why. You have met your superior." The second Blazing Dracoslayer seared a hole through the chest of Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon(2700/3000) with its gun. "You finally understand your place in this world." Dinoster slammed his shield into Uno. "Gwah!" He was knocked against the bars of the carousel. "You understand that you are nothing." Majester flew across Uno and the unicorn slashed into his shoulder with its horn. "Argh!" There were so few lifepoints left. "This is.. too much." Iria could not believe it, her counterpart was crueler than she ever could have imagined. And she was not letting up. "And you never will be anything again." The Inquisitor stepped in front of Uno, looked down at him and declared the last attack. Luster Pendulum swept his sword across Uno's body. "..." He was in too much pain to even scream at this point. "We're done." Silver turned on the red light of her dueldisk.

Uno's LP: 0

"Stop!" Out of nowhere, a monster appeared and flew at the Inquisitor to scratch into her dueldisk. "What!?" It was a solid vision hologram of the Nekroz of Trishula. "I won't let you. Not again!" The summoner of that card came from their left. "Alice?" Uno was stunned. He didn't know Alice could even do something like that. "Heh, another friend?" Iria placed a finger on her eyepatch. "I see, the scream records matches your voice. That was you, not the other." The girl held her undivided attention now. "You.. you can't scare me! Just leave him alone. He's done nothing wrong!" She understood the consequences of her action, yet she remained defiant. "He's done plenty, he broke the rules of the Union... of the game." Silver tossed her broken dueldisk away and clapped her hands. "But I appreciate all of you showing up at once. It saves me some time." The templar drones swarmed around her, switching to active-mode. "Yeah well, I am with her!" Eric stepped up to join Alice. "If you want Uno, you will have to go through us!" He activated his dueldisk. "As if you can save someone who has already lost. I.."

But Eric was not the only one to come to Uno's defense. "no." A purple shadow blurred into view. "You?" It was her, the darkhaired girl from before. "Milady!" And, it seemed, she was no stranger to the Inquisitor. "i can't let you harm this man, Silver." She spoke with a stronger tone and did not even blink once at the sight of two Iria's in the same area. "Milady. I must. He has taken from the Union and he has ties with a resistance cell. He must be brought in." Silver actually sounded off-balance; this girl was making her nervous. "he is one of us, inquisitor." The girl retorted, as she briefly glared at the pendulum around Eric's neck. "One of.. you?" Uno didn't get it. What did she mean with that? "I do not believe that. It is all a game of deception, milady!" But Silver would not listen. She was moments away from giving her templars their orders... "then..." .. when the girl extended her arm and spun around in a half-circle. "go to the city, Uno, to the control bridge. i will wait for you there." She said to him with a warm smile and vanished. "Cease.." The Inquisitor and all her drones disappeared along with the mystery girl; whisked away to parts unknown.

"Whawhawhawhat just happened?" Eric sputtered. "A teleport." Iria guessed. What they witnessed was comparable to January's tricks. "Uno! You're.. are you.. We came as fast as we could once we saw you on the network!" Alice meanwhile rushed to Uno's side, as he lay there on the pavement all scratched and bruised up. "Nothing's broken, but I've been better." He groaned. His body was in too much pain to handle standing up. "Uno. Who was that woman?" Iria asked Uno. "Don't know. Don't remember. But she has to know something about me." Something brought her back; the sight of the pendulum crystal perhaps. "Don't know how long she can keep Silver off us. We need to find her. She said something about a bridge. Which was in the control city?" They had to be careful now that the Inquisitor knew who they were. "It is." Adamant took Uno's words as his cue to enter the scene. He dropped the maps from the guildbase at Uno's feet. "And we know how to get there."

(To be Continued in Redux 077: The Road less Traveled)

 **New Cards used by Uno  
** Performapal Splashmammoth

 **New Cards used by Inquisitor Silver  
** Amorphage Goliath  
Rescue Hamster  
Master Pendulum the Dracoslayer

-  
Ignister Prominence the Blasting Dracoslayer  
Majester Paladin, the Ascending Dracoslayer  
Dinoster Power, the Mighty Dracoslayer

-  
Scapegoat  
Draco Face-Off


	14. The Road less Traveled

**Redux 77: The Road less Traveled**

After the turn of the century, the new unified world celebrated their progress in various ways with various creations. An underground railroad system, built to connect all major cities, was one of those creations. Those paths were guarded like any other. Yet the maps taken from the XYZ-base revealed exploits in the network. There was a whole web of older tunnels, left behind when former locales were wiped off the face of the earth to make room for the new Control City. To get to this underground maze, one would need to sneak into the existing subway system at night when transport was at a standstill.

"Ehr heya! I'm back. Hope you weren't too worried about Uno or me!" So for now the gang returned to the academy, where Alice stumbled into Zenshin once again. "Hello there ms. Alice. I take it you managed to find your friend?" It sounded like he hadn't heard anything about Uno since she last saw him. That was good news. "Yeah. He.. uhm.. had to leave suddenly to help a friend." She told him and he seemingly took it at face-value. "I see. Well if he is still up for it, he can always take the trial tomorrow." It was too late in the day now to reschedule. "I'll tell him that! Also, duelists can rest here can't they?" She asked. "Of course. There's a dorm in the south wing. We have plenty of rooms available this season, you will just need to sign for it at the register." The master helpfully explained. "Thanks." The new student bowed her head. "Oh you don't have to do that every time." He laughed. "I'll try to remember next time. Well, gotta go!" And with that, she was gone.

"Kay. It seems nobody's looking for you. If we wanted to, we could take our trials tomorrow. And we can sleep there if we want to." Alice reported once she rejoined the others at the van. "That wont be necessary. You already got us into the network." Adamant stated. He did not feel the urge to take the trial himself. "Aww. But we got you the fake ID and everything." She sulked. "And there'd be no point in me or Iria taking that test either. They already have a Stonewell and Silver in their system. Eh Iria?" Eric chuckled. But the disciple stayed bitterly quiet. "... Well. Guess most of us are sleeping in the van." He let out a moan. Three days without a comfortable bed was getting to his body. "Sorry, Eric. But if all things go well, that will change soon." Uno stated confidence. Though he lost the duel to the Inquisitor, that woman in purple gave him new energy to go forward. He wanted to see her.

"Why are we even considering this?" Iria said abruptly. "Those people are not going to take us in as friends. You even called them _the enemy_ , Adamant!" She didn't agree with their optimism. "Our present situation forces us to, disciple. We invite danger the longer we stay here. Whatever we may think of Millennium and whoever really controls it, the world will be in a far worse situation if the fusion guild or the Circle takes over." Whoever attacked his guild, Adamant did not want to wait around to find out. "Ms. Silver.. are you worried about her?" Alice made a cautious guess as to what was upsetting her. "She's not you, Iria. Who knows what changed her." Uno added. "What is your point? She still works for Millennium, they are the ones who let her do her job this way!" Inquisitor Silver was the face of the Union, and the disciple was disgusted by that face. "That is why we need to confront her and her superiors. We need to make them see where we came from through you. They have to be warned. If anybody does not want to go, they can stay. But at 3 AM this night, I will head into the underground. Alone, if I have to."

Adamant gave everyone time to think. Time which Uno and Alice spent in her room in the academy. "Did you find her yet?" Time which Uno spent searching for this mystery girl on the network, while Alice zapped the channels to see all kinds of films and TV-shows the other world never heard off. "None. Then again I don't have a lot to go on." Online search results were less than illuminating. The word 'UNO' only took him to clubs or stores. This world had no 'first duelist' novels. "Who do you think she is... your sister.. your girlfriend?" While Alice only saw that girl once, she was already fantasizing about her true nature. "I don't think so." Uno didn't feel about her that way, he couldn't explain why. "Ugh. Enough about that." He closed the laptop. "I forgot to ask all about you. How did your duel go? And when did you learn that trick with your dueldisk?" That trick with the holographic Nekroz saved his life. "I used Adamants dueldisk. He showed me how to do it while we were looking for you, how to direct the monsters and stuff. I didn't ask, but he insisted I had to learn to defend myself." She was glad now that he did. "And the duel went okay too. I think.. I can play again, without being scared. And I still want to help Adamant." She said with a little smile. "Of course.. I feel the same."

Over in the van, Adamant was finally sleeping. "Wish I could do that." Eric saw him close his eyes and that was all it took. "How could I turn out like.. like that." Iria would have liked to nap on command too, to avoid being stuck with her thoughts. "Hey. I was surprised by my other half too.. Okay, he didn't turn out to be as.. unpleasant.. What I mean is that Uno is right, you're way different from her. Sure you can be intimidating too, but when I saw you duel I wanted to be more like you. I can't say the same for her!" Eric practically unloaded a speech on her before he thought any better of it. "Ehr..." Her silent expression didn't make clear if he had to regret his words. "I appreciate that."But she eventually responded, albeit flatly. "I just have to wonder what made her that way. Or what made me this way? Which is the natural state?" She could think of reasons, but she didn't want to bring up her past. In the end there was probably only one answer. "Dom." She whispered. If anyone could help her find him, it would be Millennium. In any case, that was a concern for tomorrow.

...

A handful of hours later, the gang woke up and reconvened outside the academy. "We are all decided?" Adamant asked. "As if any of us would say no." Uno spoke for them all. "Good." Nothing more needed to be said. They drove off in the van, using Tory's tracking device to stay out of range of the Templars. Soon they arrived at the subway station which would lead into the underground. Only there was a problem. "A guard?" Across the hall, in front of the escalators, was a man with a dueldisk. "Nightwatchers.. saw it coming." Uno shook his head. "We can't let anyone know what we're doing. We have to deal with him without getting the templars attention." A duel of any kind would immediately raise alarm. "If I can get my barrier up, it should cut off all communications." Iria had one idea. "But we need to get close to him without alerting him." One dueldisk could not cast a wide enough forcefield. "Hmm.. I have an idea that just might work." Uno snapped his fingers.

"Lady Silver?"

The crazy plan was thus, have Iria confuse the guard long enough for her to get near him and then spring her trap on him. "What is your name and scale, duelist?" Iria, despite her reservations, acted the part well enough. She imitated Silver's more impassioned accent and had her hair untied. "Scale 8 duelist, Flake , madam. Might I ask the reason for your visit?" It wasn't flawless. 'Flake', a young blackhaired man with dreadlocked hair, could not help but notice the discrepancies like her missing eyepatch and a greyer uniform. "I was in pursuit of a criminal as he was trying to leave the city." Still, it worked long enough. By the time he started really questioning her, she was already too close. "Wait.. where are you Templar units?" And that moment had come. "!?" He reacted as quickly as her. She activated her dueldisk and raised a barruer. He grabbed his dueldisk and connected it to the wall. "I knew it!" He turned the disk on, and sent a pulse through the wire. "Tch." The next second a steel plate door came down and cut off entrance to the station. "You're not the Inquisitor!" Then Flake attempted to send a duel invite to the woman. Only to find another challenger. "When did you...?"

It was Eric, wearing the mask Stonewell left behind. "If he duels you, he can take down the forcefield. So he will have to go through me first!" Eric jumped in as soon as he saw things go south. The others he told to stay back. "Ah. You're of the resistance. Now it makes sense." Flake said with a very dry voice. "Yeah and you're with Millennium! I guess I gotta take you down to make that gate go up!" Eric drew five cards so he could hurry this along. "Ho. I am not with millennium itself, I took this position so I could be. That does not mean you should under-estimate me. I notice your barrier is jamming my communications. But my superiors call in for updates every hour. So you have about.. 32 minutes to defeat me and make it through." Flake spoke calmly as he drew his five cards. "Then you will have to finish this in half that time." Iria told Eric. He at least had the first turn. "I know, I know!" Eric placed a monster and a trap. "End turn!"

Eric's LP: 8000 Flake's LP: 8000

"Unfortunately, I can not stall for time. The dueldisk would make me forfeit if I did." Flake's turn began with him activating a field spell. "Yosen Training Grounds. Now whenever a Yosenju is summoned, a counter is added to my field spell." A shinto shrine complete with gate arose behind the stern duelist. "Yosenju? What's that?" It didn't even sound like english to Eric. "You will see them. The youngest of three, Yosenju Kama3!" A silverhaired humanoid weasel(4/1500/800) in bandages and clothes jumped down the steps of the shrine. "When one of the Kama brothers is normal summoned, another Yosenju is immediately normal summoned! Yosenju Tsujik!" Kama3 started a small twister with his hand. The whirlwind was then cut in half by a ferret/human samurai(4/1000/1000). Two candles of the Yosen shrine were lit; representing two Yosen counters. "Tsujik may add 1000 attackpoints to any Yosenju." The samurai targeted himself(2000/1000) for this effect, making his sword glow with green energy. "Attack, Kama3!" The weasel-warrior shredded Erics face-down Tour Bus to Forbidden Realms(3/600/1000) with his daggers. "Attack, Tsujik!" Then Tsujik slashed his sword across Erics chest.

Eric's LP: 6000

"Yeah I see the Yosenju now." At least this guy wasn't using solid holograms. "But hey, you flipped my Forbidden Bus. Its flip effect will give me a fire-type fiend, heheh." Eric added his favorite Infernoid to his hand; Attondel. "You weren't the only one to gain something. When Kama3 watches another Yosenju damage lifepoints, he will draw one Yosenju card from my deck." Flake used Kama3's effect to place Yosenju Kama2 into his hands. "I set two cards in the spell/trap zone and end my turn." As he did, another storm hit the field. "Now what?" It turned out to be a favorable wind, as Kama3 and Tsujik were blown back into Flake's hand. "The Yosenju return to their master during the endphase of a turn in which they were normal summoned." Flake explained. "Ohoho! I like the sound of that!" Eric had his chance now. He activated his set continuous trap. "Void Launch! It'll toss two Infernoids to my graveyard during my standby phases!" Eric discarded two random demons, fodder for the one in his hand. "I banish two Infernoids to special summon Infernoid Adramelech!" The murderous and corrupted Attondel sundemon(8/2800/0) was back to terrorize the living. "Direct attack!"

"Eric wait!" Iria shouted. While she advocated haste, she did not want him to act without thinking. "Your ally must have a very easygoing life, to be so straightforward." Flake responded by discarding Yosenju Tsujik from his hand to activating an effect. "The mountain spirit, Yosenju Ojam! When I am attacked directly, I can summon it from my hand!" A featureless shadow(0/0) loomed over the shrine, with glowing eyes and big hands. "What? In attack mode?" Eric smelled a trap, but kept Attondel going anyway. "Ho.. When Oyam battles a face-up monster, his power rises to match its opponent." The mountain spirit(2800/0) grew even more. "!? Then they will.." Yosenju Ojam and the Infernoid crashed into each other, blowing themselves into pieces. "Destroy each other. But when Oyam is destroyed in battle." Flake pulled a card from his deck. "A Yosenju card is added to my hand! I choose Yosenju Kama1!" Now he had all three brothers. _"This is an issue. That field spell of his has three counters now."_ Iria saw the third candle light up after Oyam's summoning. "Fine, I end my turn!" Eric cursed. What could the field spell do?

"And I start mine. I remove three Yosen counters from the Yosen Training Grounds." They found out now. "To add a Yosenju from the deck to my hand!" Flake grabbed a second copy of Yosenju Tsujik. "Remember that all three brothers have the ability to add one more normal summon. I normal summon the youngest!" Yosenju Kama3 returned to the training ground. "Then I summon the second, Yosenju Kama2!" His effect was followed by the arrival of an older samurai weasel(4/1800/200) in tight blue robes. "And the oldest, Yosenju Kama1!" Third, a silverhaired humanoid weasel(4/1600/500) in a looser purple kimono appeared using Kama2's effect. Kama3's extra normal summon was claimed by the new Yosenju Tsujik(4/1000/1000). In turn the shine lit four of its candles again. "Now, Kama1 may return one face-up card to a players hand, if another Yosenju is on the field. I return Void Launch." The weasel-warrior wrapped Erics trap up and shattered it. "Tch. No better choice eh?" Eric took it back. "Tsujik will then reuse his ability on Kama2." The white Yosenju granted the power of his blade to the sword of the second brother(4/2800/200). "And now, a familiar attack." Kama3 had the initiative. He rolled towards Erics side and pushed the knife into the set monster.

"?" Only to have the knife spring back on a soft flexible surface. "Ha. Not that familiar, is it? Say hi to Dinosewing!" Eric revealed a stuffed sauropod demon(4/0/0). "This guy cannot be killed by attacks. And if he is attacked from now on, he gets 1000 attackpoints!" That meant Flake woulnd't get his free hits so easily. Not all of them at least. "Then it is time to reveal the power of the second brother!" Yosenju Kama2 jumped up high. "Kama2 may attack directly, by cutting the damage of his attacks in half!" The samurai made one swing with his sword, which created a blast of wind. "Damn." Another chunk of Erics lifepoints were snatched away. "So Kama3 is gonna.." Right on schedule, the youngest brother used the damage to place a Yosenju card in Flake's hand; Yosenju Oyam. "This is taking too long." Iria groaned as this turn ended the same way as the last one. Flake passed the turn to Eric, while the normal summoned Kamataichi brothers and Tsujik all returned to his hand. "That is how it shall be, until time runs out for either of us."

Eric's LP: 4600

"I don't know why you gotta be such a pain. We both want the same thing, dont we? To get into the city. I just have a quicker course!" Eric was fed up with this guy. "My turn. I activate Pot of Desires! I banish ten cards to draw two!" Erics pot spell banished the top ten cards of his deck face-down. In return he drew a spell and a trap. "You would banish a quarter of your deck just to get an edge?" Flake was bewildered by his recklessness. "What can I say? My deck is not a well-oiled machine like yours. I have like 60 cards in here, I can lose a few gears! I activate another spell, Burial from A Different Dimension, to return two banished monsters to the graveyard!" Eric could not re-bury the ten face-down cards, as he did not know which ones were monsters. "Then I banish them again, to summon Adramelech from my graveyard!" Instead he targeted the two banished Infernoids, just so Attondel could banish them again and revive itself. "And I activate another spell, Back-Up Rider, and give my demon 1500 attackpoints until the endphase!" Red lightning struck the Infernal one, and covered It(4300/0) in a fiery aura. "Direct attack!"

"Yet we haven't gone anywhere." Flake responded by activating his second Yosenju Oyam card. He discarded Yosenju Tsujik from his hand to special summon the mountain spirit in defense mode. "Are we? I learn from my mistakes, Flake!" Though Oyam increased its size, the Yosenju(2800/2800) failed to reach Attondel's height. "Oyam only copies the original attackpoints of the attacking monster! Adramelech still has his boost from Back-Up Rider!" Infernoid Attondel flew into the mountain spirit and burst through its body like a lightning bolt. "I realized that. Why else would I summon it in defense position?" Flake still made use of his monsters death effect by adding a Yosenju card, Yosenju Shinchu R, to his hand. "Yeah I saw. But did you see that my demon gets a second attack when he kills a monster!" Attondel circled back towards the duelist himself. "Direct attack!" The crackling demon swiped at Flake, halving his lifepoints with one swing. "Look who has the lead now!" Eric bragged to Iria. "Don't slow down now." She grumbled. "Yeah okay." He placed two trap cards down and ended his turn.

Flake's LP: 3700

"Ho.. You think we want the same thing?" Flake breathed in and shook his head. "Do you know what you will find in the City? I do.." He drew a card. "Oh Yeah? What's that?" Eric grew curious. "Immortality." Flake answered him unreservedly. "Immortality?" Iria winced. "I took this position to elevate my own standing, not for unsightly reasons. When a duelist reaches the tip of the Scale.. everything he is will be submitted to Millennium. Those Templars you see, where do you think they take their memories and thought patterns from? From duelists who have been integrated into the system, their souls forever guarded in Millenniums sanctuary; The Monument. That is why I want to go the city." Flake clenched his hand. "And I am too close to fail now. I reactivate Yosen Training Grounds! I add Yosenju Shinchu L to my hand!"" He removed three of the five Yosen counters the field spell collected so far. "Pendulums?" Iria spotted the blue border on these new monsters. "I set the scales, Yosenju Shinchu R and L!" Pendulum monsters, Flake had them too. "Let's see your end through, my nameless friend! So that I can move on!"

(To be Continued in Redux 076: Caution to the Wind)

 **New Cards used by Eric Stonewell**  
Dinosewing

-  
Pot of Desires  
Back-Up Rider

 **Cards used by Flake**  
Yosenju Kama 3  
Yosenju Tsujik  
Tosenju Oyam  
Yosenju Kama 2  
Yosenju Kama 1  
Yosenju Shinchu R  
Yosenju Shinchu L

-  
Yosen Training Grounds


	15. Caution to the Wind

**Redux 76: Caution to the Wind**

From where they were, Uno and the others could only see glimpses of the duel going on inside. And once the barrier went down, they lost the ability to communicate verbally as well. "It's been over five minutes. I shouldn't have let Eric go out on his own. We should help them." All Uno could be certain of was that his plan went horribly wrong, and now Eric and Iria were paying for it. "But if we ask Iria to let us in, wont that guy just slip out?" Alice pointed out the obvious. "All we can do is wait and see what happens. Eric chose his own actions." Even if Adamant would consider it, they could not sneak by as long as that gate was closed. "Yeah but.. This has to work, tonight." Uno griped. They wouldn't get a second chance if this attempt failed. "Wait. Be quiet." Adamant whispered, as his dueldisk began to bleep. "Something is coming."

...

Eric's LP: 4600 Flake's LP: 3700

"I imagine you will be immortalized as well, as a prisoner of the templars. Only one will be remembered for all eternity after this duel. Now let us begin this final turn as as any other, with the three brothers!" Flake normal summoned Yosenju Kama1 (4/1600/500), Kama2(4/1800/200) and Kama3(4/1500/800) in a row. Each sibling created an extra normal summon, so their controller could normal summon a fourth Yosenju. "One shall be sacrificed." He tributed the samurai Yosenju Kama2 to tribute summon a crazed dark weasel-warrior(6/2000/100) with dark purple clothes and bloodred beads around its throat. "Yosenju Magat. This yokai sends one Yosenju monster from my deck to my hand when it is normal summoned. I choose Mayosenju Daibak." The claimed card was another pendulum monster, a level 10 beast. "Wait.. how can you.." Flake already controlled two cards in his pendulum zones; two halves of a sacred gate. One pillar had a red demon face (scale 5), the other (scale 3) a blue demons face. "This is how.. Each turn Yosenju Shinchu R raises his scale when a Yosenju stands in the other pendulum zone." The red pillar's scale went up to 11. "Gah!"

"Behold the Pendulum summon of Mayosenju Daibak!" Whatever was coming, it caused a storm greater than any that struck before. Green flames massed together to form one gigantic horned beast(10/3000/300). "The greatest card in my shrine! It's summon cannot be stopped, and when it appears.. any two cards on the field are sent back to the players hand! Whether they are face-up or down!" The winds did not settle, they only got more ferocious. "Your defenses are gone!" Mayosenju Daibak stalked Erics traps. Flake did not care if he did not know which one was the harmless Void Launch, he would remove them both. "Oh no you don't!" Eric hastily flipped the other trap. "Eye of the Void! I can force the special summon of an Infernoid in my hand!" Void Launch opened a rift in space-time, which released the Infernoid Onuncu(8/3000/3000) in defense mode. Its effects were unfortunately negated by the trap. "That was too close." Iria let out a long sigh. She was real close to giving up on Eric. "Hey you were the one who handed these cards to me. Put some faith in them!"

"Ho. So you live to see another turn." No matter how Flake played his cards, he would not get rid of all of Erics monsters in one turn. "But not all of your cards have the same fortune. I activate Dizzying Winds of Yosen Village!" The guard flipped a continuous trap. "As long as I control a level 6 or higher Yosenju, all monsters returned to the hand are sent to the deck instead!" Flake decided to give the two a quick demonstration. "Yosenju Kama1! Return Dinosewing!" The eldest Kamaitachi threw his chained scythe towards the stuffed dinosaur(4/0/0). "He's going to send it to the deck!" Iria shouted. If Kama1 managed to bounce Dinosewing, the Dizzying winds would take it out of Erics possession completely. "Not if I have anything to say about it! Infernoid Adramelech can sacrifice him!" The Attondel demon(8/2800/0) used its tribute-banishing effect. It sent Dinosewing to the graveyard, and banished Yosenju Tsujik from the graveyard. Kama1's weapon planted itself in an empty monsterzone. "Hm. It is all the same." Flake moved to his battle phase. "Daibak destroys Attondel!" The flame beast charged at the Infernoid. Its green fire overpowered the infernal one and destroyed it.

Eric's LP: 4400

"Kama3 hands me Yosenju Oyam!" Because a Yosenju inflicted damage, the youngest Kamaitachi could use its effect to place the last of the mountain spirits in Flake's hand. Flake followed that move up with a continuous spell. "Yosen Whirlwind! I forfeit 800 lifepoints so that from now on, when a Yosenju monster returns to my hand, one card must leave my opponents field the same way. And Daibak, when he is special summoned, returns to my hand at the end of the turn." Daibak, along with Kama1 and Kama3, were picked up by their master. Only Yosenju Magat lacked a return-effect. Nevertheless the return of just one Yosenju was enough for the spell card. Yosen Whirlwind activated and targeted Infernoid Onuncu. "Bah.." The greatest hellserpent succumbed to the powerful tornado. And because of the Dizzying Village winds, it was pushed deep down into Eric's deck. "That was the end for this turn."

Flake's LP: 2900

"Grr... How much time is left?" Eric asked. "17 minutes." Iria answered. They used up half of their time already. "Alright. Time to gamble.. I activate Reasoning! Call a number, Flake!" His spell would excavate his deck and stop at the first monster it could summon. If Flake could predict that monsters level, it would be sent to the graveyard. If not, it would be special summoned. "..Four." Given what he saw of Erics deck, Flake knew his choice did not matter much. "Four eh? What does the deck say?" Eric began the excavation. Reasoning revealed six cards from his deck and the last card was the level 3 PeroPero Cerperus. "Looks like I win!" The threeheaded demon hound(3/0/1800) got summoned defense mode. ".." Meanwhile the remaining cards were sent to the graveyard; right where Eric wanted them. "I can banish two Infernoids, and summon Infernoid Baal from the graveyard!" Three of those discarded cards were Infernoids. Most of them were devoured by the special summoned Infernoid Seitsemas(7/2600/0); the red/gold hell-dragon. "Time to die, Magat!" The seventh prince of hell stretched his arm out to hurl a spear right into the body of the berserker weasel. Magat could not survive such a hit.

Flake's LP: 2300

"Hmm." Flake watched his left. His continuous trap suddenly burst into flames. "Haha! Baal banishes one card at the end of the battle phase, if he battled a monster that turn and lived!" That was one part of the Yosenju combo down. "Now don't keep me waiting!" Eric placed two trap cards face-down again before he ended his turn. "You are in such a rush, what has a life like that brought you?" Flake held himself back from drawing his card just yet. "What? I'm still young and I have friends. I can do whatever I want, for me and for them!" Eric gave his fiery reply. "Don't engage him. He is just trying to slow you down. You would do well to remind yourself of that too, sir Flake." Iria's impatience was getting to her again. Watching a duel for her was much harder than being in one. "You raise a fair point. I should not waste my time on your 'friend' anymore. I _should_ be dueling you for mocking the great Inquisitor." Flake gave Iria a hateful glare as he drew his next card. "How ironic, I feel the same way about her." She rasped.

"Kama1, Kama3!" Predictably, as always, Flake normal summoned the two Kamaitachi brothers. Then he used up three of the countless Yosen Counters on the Yosen Training Grounds field spell. "I add Yosenju Misak. This turn, I will pendulum summon two monsters!" Flake raised Shinchu R's scale to 11, so that he could special summon Mayosenju Daibak and Yosenju Misak the horned weasel demon(6/2300/200) from his hand. "With Misak's summon, one monster will be destroyed. With Daibak's summon, two cards will be returned to your hand. I choose Infernoid Seitsemas and your two trap cards!" Misak used his gigantic cleaver sword to brutally cut Seitsemas' head off. At the same time the green fire beast sent its winds down to the floor. "That's what you think!" A trap was banished from Eric's graveyard, one of the 'victims' of Reasoning. "Skill Prisoner! When I activate this trap, I can choose one of my active cards! Monsters who try to target that card, will be stopped!" Skill Prisoner targeted the left trap on the field, shielding it from Daibak's whirlwind and negating Daibak's effects for the rest of the turn.

"I knew that trap lied in waiting. Now I know what you intended to save with it." Flake shrugged and moved on to Kama1's effect. The weasel targeted PeroPero Cerperus with its chain and chased the dog off the field, back into Eric's hand. ".." Eric's situation now looked so dire that Iria had to control herself from interfering. "I attack, with all four Yosenju." But she kept quiet, even when Kama1 tossed his chain into Eric. "!" Kama3 struck next, 'cutting' his opponent with the thin dagger. What would be a fatal blow, was prepared by Misak and his cleaver.

Eric's LP: 1300

"Hey, you know the one thing that all weasels hate?" But that moment was in fact a golden opportunity, for a joke. "!?" And a trap card. "Ferrets!" Eric laughed out loud as he activated Ferret Flames; setting all the Yosenju ablaze. "What?!" Flake's monsters, from Kama1 to Mayosenju Daibak, were scared back into his deck by the flames. "I had to wait until my life was low enough! Ferret Flames makes my opponent, you, get rid of monsters until he has less attackpoints than I have lifepoints!" Not a single monster could stay, seeing as how all of them possessed more than 1300 attackpoints. "Your luck has to end sometime." Flake placed a trap card and ended his turn. "You think so? By the way, tell me if I'm wrong. But I think your spell destroys itself when it doesn't get to use its own effect." It was true, Yosen Whirlwind destroyed itself, because Flake had no Yosenjus to return to his hand. "Rgh!" Flake could only grunt. "Heh. You know, you might actually lose this buddy!" Eric immediately reactivated his other trap, Void Launch, to send two Infernoids out of the deck and into their grave. He of course banished both of them to resurrect Infernoid Seitsemas in attack position. Next up was the battle phase. "Direct attack!"

"Lose?" The look on Flake's face was one of someone who had not given that word any thought in a long time. "Lose my immortality?" This duel was not just about the intruders anymore, but about his own chances. "I refuse to humor such a future!" He discarded Yosenju Kodam from his hand. "I special summon Yosenju Oyam!" The third and final mountain spirit rose, in attack mode. "!?" The attacking Seitsemas fell into the shadow of Oyam(2600/2600), who copied its attackpoints. "Whoa there!" Eric cancelled his attack. He couldn't make use of Seitsemas' effect if both monsters died in this fight. Oyam would just search a new Yosenju upon its destruction anyway. _"Argh. I just need one hit."_ He placed PeroPero Cerperus in face-down defense mode and set another trap in the spell/trap zone. "Well go ahead then. But If you ask me, I don't think that immortality is going to be as great as it sounds!"

"After all that Millennium has done or us, why would anyone stop believing them now?" Flake said with a scowl. "All you people do is spit in the face of our saviors." He drew his card, Yosenju's Divine Mountain Winds. _"I can't use this while I control monsters... I need.."_ Three candles in the field spell shrine were doused. "Daibak!" The Training Ground's yosen counters delivered the Mayosenju once more to their master. But Flake did not pendulum summon it this turn. "I summon Yosenju Shinchu L." One half of the shrine gate was now summoned as a monster(4/0/2100) by itself. "I banish Yosenju Kodam from my graveyard, to give my Yosenjus an extra normal summon. I sacrifice both monsters to tribute summon Mayosenju Daibak!" The blue-demon pillar and the mountain spirit were swallowed by a fieldwide hurricane. The great Daibak(10/3000/3000) let out a howl at the skies as it regained its physical body. "Away with your cards!" Seitsemas and the Cerberus were the victims of the Mayosenju's effect this turn; left in Erics hand while Eric had only one trap to defend himself.

Actually, he had two traps. "I activate Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light!" The second one could be activated from the graveyard by banishing it. Just like Skill Prisoner, it had been sent there by Reasoning. "Any direct attacks this turn are stopped!" Swords of golden light poured down on the Yosen shrine and the yokai beast. "Not this time my friend!" Flake retaliated with his face-down countertrap. "Yosenjus' Secret Move! Because I control only Yosenju monsters, I can negate your trap!" Daibak swung its tail from left to right to shatter the golden swords as if they were made of brittle ice. "Now disappear! Your time is up!" The direct attack continued.. until the last trap on the field flipped. "Not even close!" Eric activated Call of the Condemned and special summoned Dinosewing(4/0/0) in defense mode. At the same time Void Launch selfdestructed, due to the presence of a Non-Infernoid monster.

 _Call of the Condemned, Continuous Trap_  
 _Activate this card by targeting 1 Fiend- or Zombie-type monster in your graveyard; Special summon that target.  
When this card is destroyed, destroy that target. When that target leaves the field, destroy this card._

"That?" Dinosewing could not be destroyed as a result of battle. Its comeback rendered Daibak's attacks pointless. "..Why does fortune smile upon you to this often? It is impossible for you to pass, it will not happen." Flake couldn't believe he was ending his turn again. He used to end duels a lot quicker than this. He was getting worried, scared. "But Mayosenju Daibak does not return to my hand if he was normal summoned!" It was as if he foresaw the need to keep one monster on his field. "Well I don't know how to answer your question. I don't think I am that lucky.. Maybe I just came from a luckier world?" Eric pulled the next card from his deck. When he saw it, he knew it was also his last card. "Infernoid Decatron!" He normal summoned the tuner monster, the demonic dragonhead Decatron(1/0/0). "He'll send Beelzebul to the grave and take his identity!" By sending Infernoid Antra from the deck, Decatron(3/0/0) absorbed its two level stars and changed its name and effect into that of the lucifer demon.

"Sorry Flake. You're tough, but I can't see you stop this! Synchro Summon!" He tuned the leveled up Infernoid with Dinosewing, synchronzing seven level stars. "Black Rose Dragon!" And the sadistic rose-winged dragon(7/2400/1500) was the terrifying endresult of that summon. "The Black Rose?" It's thorned vines spread across the station hall. "All cards on the field are history when the Black Rose Dragon is synchro summoned!" Mayosenju Daibak, Yosenju Shinchu R and L, Yosen Training Grounds; everything was destroyed. Even the dragon fell to its own effect. But Eric had a monster he could still summon. "Infernoid Baal!" Infernoid Decatron and Antra were removed from the graveyard, and Seitsemas made his ultimate reappearance. "Nothing's saving you this time, Flake. Here he comes; DIRECT ATTACK!" The seventh Infernoid ended the duel for good, with a straight jab from its spear.

Flake's LP: 0

"Grah!" Flake fell over backwards and his dueldisk shorted out. The wire that connected it to the wall received another pulse, which forced the gate to open again. "You have done it!" Iria exclaimed now that she could let out all of her pent up emotions. "Yeah. I did.. And you even stopped yelling at me after a while." Eric said openly as he was swept away by the feeling of success. "I beg your pardon?" The disciple responded sharply. "Ehr.. I just wanted to say. I'm sorry for butting in. I am sure you wanted to duel the guy yourself. But you trusted me, so thanks." He was sure that it took some selfcontrol for her to not lecture him at every turn. "I do appreciate some manner of control, yes. Thankfully we are done here."

"Ho-ho. _Done_?" The atmosphere changed when Flake started to chuckle. "You believe that the worst is over? You are all so naive." It was an uncomfortable strained sound, not one of joy. "Over there, there's a thousand stronger than me. Dozens of immortalized duelists, multiplied by hundreds through the Templar system. And I.. could have been one of them." He glared at his own hand, his weak grimy hand. "Hey. If you're worried about how this looks on you, you can just pretend this never happened. We wont say anything." Eric made what he thought was a fair deal, considering the circumstances. "Heh. They would know, and my future would be even shorter. Not that it matters, it is too late for us both." His grin disappeared. "Too late!? How!?" Iria and Eric cringed. "By believing my lie. My status updates were made more frequent this week, due to recent disturbances in this region. I imagine your resistance group had something to do with that. I should have responded ten minutes ago. By now the closest Templar will have arrived to investigate the delay, and will find you.. barrier or no barrier." He got back up. "All of our futures will look very bleak from now on."

"I do not think so." Said a voice most familiar to Eric; his own. "Stonewell?" His double entered the station halls, side by side with Uno, Alice and Adamant. "I already took care of your Templar friend while it was snooping around outside. And my friend then took care that no other Templars noticed what was going on here by creating a few distractions in the network. Nobody is coming to help you. Iria, you can step out of the barrier." Warily the disciple did as he instructed, switching the barrier off temporarily so she and Eric could get out. "I assume you know what you are doing." She did not trust this Eric that deeply yet. "You're on our side again? Awesome! I.. Oh. Wait. I should give this back." Eric excitedly took off the mask, drawing a shocked gasp from Flake. "There are two of you? I do not.. understand." This night felt like a bizarre dream. Perhaps he was dreaming. "I have no more use for this. Thanks to you, the Union knows my face." Stonewell tossed the thing aside. There was still some resentment in his words. "But I knew about the routes you discovered and where they would take you. I had time to think.. and come to a decision."

"I need to make the same journey so that I can save Purgatory. So for now, I will work with you."

(To be Continued in Redux 075: More than a Friend)

 **New Cards used by Eric Stonewell  
** Infernoid Seitsemas

-  
Black Rose Dragon

-  
Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light

 **New Cards used by Flake  
** Yosenju Magat  
Mayosenju Daibak  
Yosenju Misak  
Yosenju Kodam

-  
Yosen Whirlwind

-  
Dizzying Winds of Yosen Village  
Yosenjus' Secret Move


	16. More than a Friend

**Redux 75: More than a Friend**

The group was all ready to go, but they had some loose ends to discuss while keeping said loose ends out of earshot. "And what are we going to do with him? Can we just leave him here? Wont his boss be very mad at him?" Alice asked softly as she looked at the man in the forcefield cage. "Your fate will be ten times darker than my own." Flake cursed as he could still see them talk. "Can it!" Stonewell shouted. "The Order wouldn't do anything serious to a scaled up duelist like him. He will just go down three or four scales; nothing to lose sleep over." He just wanted to keep moving. "I can leave my old dueldisk behind. It has enough power to last three hours. That is how much it takes for the station to open to the public again." Iria claimed. Flake was not the one they had to worry about by that time. "Stonewell's right, we can talk as we walk." Uno said. "Agreed." Adamant took the lead with the map in one hand and the dueldisk as a lightsource in the other.

And so they walked down the escalators, unto the platforms and down into the railway tunnels. "We aren't gonna get run over are we?" Alice spun her head back and forth to look out for any bright lights coming towards them. "I think we're good. Nothing runs at this hour, right?" Eric claimed as he caught himself glancing behind as well. "There is a curfew for most citizens around this time. I mean, you can go outside at night, but you risk Templars randomly dropping in on you to 'evaluate' you." Stonewell had seen that happen occasionally. "It wouldn't matter either way. We will not be following the tunnel the entire way." Adamant stopped. "Here is where the old tunnels begin... Rise Falcon." He materialized a monster card with his dueldisk and let it blow a hole in the wall. "Oof! Mind giving a warning next time?" Uno coughed. The rubble and debris scattered everywhere. "It was necessary. The entrances were all filled in with concrete." The XYZ-duelist dismissed his Raidraptor and scouted the inside of the hole. "Looks like the map matches what we see and the tunnels have held up. Keep following me. No matter what you do... stay close."

The journey continued at a steady but slower pace. Nobody wanted to risk a cave-in or getting lost. There were tunnels underneath and above, it would also be very easy to get trapped here forever if you ran too far. "You say your group took care of the templars outside?" The further they got, the more apprehensive Iria grew about this entire journey. "If you want the details, one of my comrades faked a network disturbance for the Templars in Skyheart to chase after. Nobody is gonna notice what happened to Flake until his shift ends." Stonewell received the brunt of her demands for information. "You mean your hacker friend?" Alice remembered one of the Limbos bragging about his online talents. "Yes.. my 'hacker' friend. He's done a lot for us. He even checked my cards and deviced a way to obscure the tracers inside. So no, I will not get us all in hot water again if I duel with these cards." Stonewell knew what Iria's next question was going to be, so his answer beat it to the punch. "Couldn't you just use something else?" Eric had his own obvious questions. "Hmph.." Stonewell still found it weird to have to answer to 'himself'. "I cannot go back, it would make me weaker.."

"By the way, what are you going to do once you get to the city?" Stonewell now returned the interrogation favor. "We're looking for someone, a woman. Someone the Inquisitor is intimidated by. She might want to help us." Uno explained. "That sounds like a lot of maybes to me." The igknight duelist grumbled. "You did not need to come with us, you know." Eric snapped back, getting tired of his counterparts complaints again. "I do. This is my only chance to save Tory. The longer she stays in their prisons, the higher the chance is that she comes back 'wrong'. Sometimes they release the people the templars capture, but there is always something wrong with them. Like they forgot what made them hate the union in the first place." Stonewell spoke with clenched teeth and a balled fist. "Did that happen to people you knew?" Alice asked him. "To people my classmates knew, while I still took class. I stopped going there once I figured out they were only teaching us crap." He said with a wry grin. "Wait.. so Tory was her real name?" Alice had one more question. "What? Oh.. Purgatory." Stonewell scoffed at first and then chuckled. "Yeah. I always told her 'Purgatory' was a flimsy alias. But she knew the young me liked those kinds of stories." He got quiet after that, sighing to himself.

"Uno... I do not think Stonewell needs to know everything. He wont be with us much longer." Adamant talked with Uno as the two pulled away from the rest of the group for a bit to check ahead. "I am not so sure about that." Uno responded with a smile. "You may be comparing him to Eric too much. You have to realize both of them are vastly different people." Adamant stated the obvious. "But he's still Eric. He still had the same family growing up, just a different environment." Uno was sure there were a lot of 'Eric' qualities inside of Stonewell. "Besides. I thought you believed in destiny?" Adamant had always sounded more like he'd be on the nature and not nurture side of things. "I believed my destiny was to be the ultimate duelist. Instead I find myself here with you in an underground tunnel wading through dirt and grime. I think some destinies aren't meant to come true." He claimed, causing Uno to raise an eyebrow. "Was that a joke?" Adamant was not usually the one to bring in humor. "A cruel one, perhaps." Adamant sighed. He had been out of his comfort zone for too long now.

"Wait." Adamant held his hand up. "We're stopping here? Do not tell me you lost your place." Iria could see a three-ponged fork in the path ahead. "That's not the problem. The problem is these openings should not be here yet." On the map the tunnel crossing was filled in. "Someone has been here already." Human hands broke down the blockades. "Someone? Who?!"

"Awww. You ruined the surprise.""Adamant never wants to let us have our fun." A melodic pair of voices escaped the shadows. Instantly Eric felt a chill crawl up his spine. "I am not hearing that.." Those weren't two people talking, it was just one. "Dame Phoebe!" The two-faced leader of the fusion guild emerged from the left tunnel. "Correct! You win the grand prize.. Me." She poked her cheek with her left finger. "And me!" Her right hand clenched into a fist. "Huh... What did you do?" Alice saw something that was clearly new about her appearance. Her black outfit and purple hair now covered the right half of her body, while the left had the white dress and blonde curls. "I had to do a make-over. I mean this is the mirrored world. Duh." The girl giggled. " _Who_ is this?" Stonewell asked. "Dame Phoebe. The new Leader of the fusion guild that I told you about." Adamant said with a weary sigh. He understood why all of this was happening. "It was you. Your people raided our compound. But you left the maps behind because you knew I would show up to find them. It was bait for your trap."

"And you took it. I am so glad you did!" The Dame clapped her hands together. "But I had help. First and foremost from your friend. He showed me where to find your pretty little gate." Adamant did not need guesses to find out who this friend was. "Ichirou." His own subordinate sold him out to Roma once before. It was well within that mans character to betray the XYZ-guild too. "He's useful, but a coward. He didn't feel like joining me on this little expedition. Good thing I have another pal." Phoebe licked her finger and to let the sound of new footsteps come in. "It's that guy!" A young man with oily black hair stepped out of the darkness of the right tunnel. His body was covered from neck to foot in leather bonds. "Hello." He greeted them with a sleepy echo. "Martel! That's the guy who hypnotized me!" Eric pointed at him. "I was, until you stopped being my puppet." He wagged his finger. "As I see it, with the XYZ-guild integrated into my own, I had every right to take your machine, Adamant. The loyal ones fought bravely for it, but we defeated them all. And now here we are." Phoebe smiled.

"So all of this was a trap to lure us here? Why? What do you need? How did you even get in this timeline?" Uno thought their business with them would have been over once they got all the dragon cards. "And.. and where's Emily? Where's Aaron and Zach? What happened to everyone else?" Alice had her own questions. She had no idea what the other world went through in the last few days. When they left, the country had been taken over by the guilds and sent into a state of chaos. "Ah, so many questions. So little time. You don't need to know what we want from you, we will _take_ everything you got!" Dame Phoebe cackled. "As to how we got here? Well we didn't use Adamants gate. We took that from this side. Martel can tell you how.. and how your friends are." She shared her smile with her cohort. "Yes. I will show you. One of them is right here." Martel reached into a pocket strapped around his waist and took out a flat card. "No.." Alice shuddered. He flipped the card around... It had Zach's face on it. "He was your friend, wasn't he?" That was the final straw. "You did that!?" Iria activated her dueldisk and drew five cards.

Iria's LP: 8000 Martel's LP: 8000

"Yes." Martel did the same, drawing five cards and only placing one of them down in the monster zone. "I guess we are doing this after all." Dame Phoebe wiggled her fingers together and stepped aside. "Iria! This has to be a trap!" Uno tried to warn her. Of what he didn't know. "I don't care; they trapped us already!" Iria drew her sixth card. " _I_ will take us out!" She activated both the field spell, Domain of the True Monarchs, and normal summoned Eidos the Underworld Squire(3/800/800) from her hand. The Domain spell reduced the level of a Mega Monarch in her hand by 2, and Eidos allowed her to tribute summon one more monster. So she sacrificed the Squire for the demonic black emperor; Caius the Mega Monarch(6/2800/1000) "Banish it!" Whatever Martels single card was, the shadow mega monarch would remove it from play and inflict 1000 points of damage to him at the same time. "A mistake. This is not just me anymore." But then Martel placed a card on the dueldisk that did not come from the hand, nor did it hit the field. "Wha?" Out of nowhere, Mega Caius' effect was negated. "WHAT?!"

"But.." Uno saw him, they all saw him. He was not a card anymore. "Zach!?" Zachary Creffield had been summoned to support Martel in the duel.

Zach's LP: 8000

"He.. recreated him?" Stonewell could not believe it. It was possible to undo the effects?! "And he is dueling too now?" Adamant was more concerned with what Zach did. Zach rematerialized with his dueldisk and cards already by his side. He had drawn five cards too and discarded one, Effect Veiler, to negate the effects of Iria's monster. "Creffield... Zachary! Why are you..helping him?" Iria shouted. This could not be happening. "..." He did not answer her, he did not even seem alive. "Zachary is mine now." Martel coldly explained. "Yours?!" The other disciple cringed. "He..brainwashed him." Alice gasped. "Like those people at the stadium and the museum.. and me!" Eric cursed. He was the one responsible for all of that. "Return him!" Iria could attack on her turn, and she did not want to hurt Zach. Instead she had Mega Caius destroy Martel's facedown monster; a purpe hedgehog(3/800/200) attached to strings. _"Shaddoll Hedgehog?"_ Somehow Uno already knew what this card's name was. "Shaddoll Hedgehog. You flipped it. Now I may add one Shaddoll spell." Martel used the death of his monster to add a El Shaddoll Fusion card to his hand.

"You do not see. This is not just us. If you duel me, you duel all of me. Zachary is part of that." Though Iria ended her turn during this speech, it was Creffield who drew a card afterwards. "It's his turn?" The other disciple activated a field spell; First Movement Solo, to special summon a Melodious Diva Serenade(4/400/1900) from his deck. It appeared he still owned all of his old cards. "I collect and save. He was unique. I wanted him." The dark one further clarified while his puppet normal summoned a Crystal Rose(2/500/500). _"Meridians card? Did the fusion guild modify it to work with the Melodious?"_ Uno pondered while Zach kept going. A special summoned Serenade allowed a second normal summon of a Melodious monster. Serenade also counted herself as two tributes for Melodious monsters. Therefore, Zach could immediately sacrifice it to tribute summon Mozarta the Melodious Maestra(8/2600/2000). "The field spell?" Domain of the True Monarchs blocked all extra deck summons, including fusions, when only its controller was the only duelist with a tribute summoned monster on the field. Now that Zach controlled Mozarta, that field effect was negated. "Zach stop this!"

But he couldn't, and he didn't. First he used Crystal Rose's milling ability to send Soprano a Melodious Songstress from his deck to the graveyard. Next he activated Mozarta's effect; special summoning the Melodious Maestra Shopina(7/2300/1700) from his hand. Shopina's effect was used last to retake Soprano from the graveyard. "He duels like he normally would." Adamant noted that Martel was not giving Zach any instructions. The 'puppets' retained their intelligence but not their free will. "We have to do something!" Alice didn't want to see this anymore. "Oh you are all welcome to _dip_ in. This is a battle royal, with some special rules." Dame Phoebe chimed in as she re-appeared from the tunnel on the left. Zach's turn ended when he placed one spell card face-down. "What!?" Now it was Phoebe's turn. "Too bad you are a liiittle too late."

Phoebe's LP: 8000

"Edge Imp Saw!" Phoebe slammed a monster down on her field, the buzzing and figure-framed saw demon(4/500/1000). Its effect discarded a Fluffal from Phoebe's hand, Fluffal Wing, and returned a card from her hand to the deck. In return Phoebe was allowed to draw two new cards. One of them was Polymerization. "Heheh! I activate the fusion spell!" Polymerization targeted Edge Imp Saw on the field, along with a Fluffal Rabbit in her hand. "Come out my lovely little lion!" The fluffy rabbit was shredded to tatters by the imps saws, and their contrasting bodies were fused together to summon a lion beast(7/2400/2000) of deadly saws from the extra deck. "Frightfur Leo! Make Caius bleed!" Upon its summon the lion could toss its saws at another monster to destroy it. "Look out!" Uno yelled as he nearly took a hit himself. The blades spun everywhere, cutting in the floor and ceiling. Mega Caius was sliced into countless pieces. "Ugh!" And now Iria would take damage equal to that monsters attackpoints. "Gah!" Caius exploded and the blast knocked nearly everyone to the floor.

Iria's LP: 5200

Phoebe activated a continuous spell card. "Frightfur Factory! I banish one polymerization or fusion spell from my graveyard, to fuse two monsters into another Frightfur! I choooooose... Polymerization!" Earlier, when Fluffal Rabbit turned into a fusion material, its effect returned another Fluffal card to Phoebe's hand. The Factory spell now targeted that card, Fluffal Wing, to fuse it with Edge Imp Frightfuloid in her hand. "...What is she.." The disciple was still in pain from the last attack, and her opponent already put a new death-toy on the field. "Frightfuloid is so cute its scary. Making him a Frightfur too! Good thing! A Frightfur and one or more Fluffals are the ingredients for my precious Frightfur Sabre-tooth!" The pale lion transformed into a purple tiger(8/2400/2000); its saws became teeth-like blades. "Sabre Tooth makes all my Frightfur more terrifying! He can special summon one dead but lovely Frightfur!" A portal opened to the graveyard and the customized Edge Imp Frightfuloid(4/1300/1300) was alive once again. Both it(1700/1300), the Lion(2800/2000) and the Sabre-toothed tiger(28000/2000) gained 400 attackpoints. "Battle.." Frightfur Leo could not attack directly during the turn it used its effect. But Edge Imp Frightfuloid could use its second effect to copy the attack and defense points of a Frightfur on the field. It(2800/2000) imitated the form of the Lion and slashed Iria with his new saws. "Ngh!"

Iria's LP: 2400

"Looks like we will be getting our second disciple soon!""Another." Phoebe moved her finger across her neck and sent Frightfur Sabre-Tooth. There was nothing at Iria's disposal that could stop the rampaging Frightfur. "NO!"

Alice's LP: 8000

She had to be saved by another. "Sphere Kuriboh!" Alice activated the orb-Kuriboh from her hand, discarding it to switch Frightfur Sabre-Tooth to defense mode. "Guh.. You.." Iria was saved. The last attack could not reach her now. "You wont take anyone else!" Alice screamed. It wasn't her turn, but she could still use the cards she had in her hand. "Yeah. We're through with your games!" The others were back up as well. Eric drew his cards. "You will have to duel all of us." Adamant followed the lead. "And when we win, you will tell us everything." Stonewell stood at their side. "Martel, Phoebe. Whatever you want, we will not give it to you." Uno took the frontline. They had to get through this together, they had little time to waste.

"These ones work well together. And there is one more than anticipated." Martel said to Phoebe while his lazy eyes gazed at Stonewell in the back. "Then we will take them apart and pick them off one at a time." The fusion leader made a snipping motion with her hand. "Yes." A very wide smile formed on Martels face. "What are you going to do?" Uno held the other back. "Play a game." Martel placed four more cards into his dueldisk. "There's more?" Uno stammered as four more people materialized, draped in cloaks. "You hide.. we seek!" One of the puppets summoned a large monster, while Phoebe and the others all climbed on top of their own solidified monsters. "Wait!" Adamant saw it hit the ceiling, the thing was too big for the area. "Everyone, get.." It was too late to get away. The monster made the whole floor break apart and crash down in separate directions. "Whaa!" They all fell down, and the light faded. "Eric, Alice!" The last thing Uno saw were the shadows of the fusion guild jumping down after them. He landed in the pitch-black depths.

(To be Continued in Redux 074: Puppetshow)

 **New Cards used by Iria Silver  
** Caius the Mega Monarch

 **Cards used by Martel  
** Shaddoll Hedgehog

 **New Cards used by Zachary Creffield  
** Effect Veiler

 **New Cards used by Dame Phoebe  
** Fluffal Wing

-  
Frightfur SabreTooth

-  
Frightfur Factory


	17. Puppetshow

**Redux 74: Puppetshow**

"Uhn..." Uno opened his eyes. The fall was short, but rough and uneven. He landed somewhere cramped and warm. _"Oh right."_ He turned on the dueldisk to get some light. All around him were big metal pipes and thick powercables _. "Must be some sort of service tunnel."_ Whatever it used to be, it was no longer being used. "I guess I am all alone too." He saw noone else, and he did not see a way to get back up either. He must have fallen through some chutes or something. "Wait.." He was not alone long. He heard light footsteps coming his way. "Alice? Eric?... Iria?" He was hoping for the best. "No.. I didn't think so." When no response came, he knew what he was delaing with. A man in a cloak was revealed as the lights of his dueldisk switched on. "One of Martels... Hey, can you hear me? Can you do anything?" Under the hood was the face of a young boy with chestnut-brown hair and lifeless eyes. "..." The boy said nothing and drew five cards faster than Uno could. "Nothing matters but the duel huh. Blast it."

Puppet's LP: 8000 Uno's LP: 8000

The hooded boy activated a field spell "?" A pyramid appeared and folded outwards. It turned into a battleship that floated above the ground. Meanwhile the dark tunnels were replaced with a bright desert skyline. The vision system made the area look more open that it really was. "Triamid Cruiser?" Uno identified the card, it was support for rock and Triamid monsters. Once it was active, all rock-monster normal summons would reward the user with 500 lifepoints. So the puppet summoned one right away. _"Triamid Hunter."_ It was a mechanical man(3/1400/1100) made of gold, with a distinct egyptian theme to it. Its head was fashioned after that of the jackal god Anubis. "This one lets him normal summon a second rock monster from his hand." The Hunter held up an ankh symbol which glowed. The light produced the second normal summoned card; a female automaton(3/600/1900) of gold, with the head of Bastet the cat goddess. _"And Triamid Dancer.."_ Triamid Cruiser boosted the boy's lifepoints twice.

Puppet's LP: 9000

 _"But Triamid Cruiser has another effect."_ If the summoned rock-monster was one of the Triamids, the duelist could draw one card but he had to discard one too. In this case Triamid Cruiser discarded a Triamid Master monster from the boy's hand. _"And that means. The Dancer can use her ability."_ Triamid Dancer played a musical tune with her sistrum instrument. _"She returns the Triamid card to the deck, to increase the attackpoints of all Triamids by 500."_ Triamid Master followed the music and headed back into the deck. The Dancer(1100/1900) and the Hunter(1900/1100) raised their own powers. _"How do I know all these effects?"_ Uno never saw anyone use Triamids in the other world though. _"Was he a duelist from this world? But that would mean.."_ That Martel visited this world before...

"Oh its my turn?" With this silent opponent, he would need to rely on his disk to tell him when he could begin. "Okay then! I will give you a show, so you can at least enjoy yourself! Set the scales, Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn and Performapal Performapal Changeraffe!" The scale of 8 came with the green unicorn. A scale of 1 belonged to a longnecked giraffe "I Pendulum summon these cards!" Uno summoned Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon(7/2500/2000), Xiangke Magician(7/2500/500) and Performapal Bubble Bowwow(5/2300/1000). "...Nothing? Geez. You're really under his spell." People always reacted to the weirder Performapals and a bulldog with a soapbrush, a soap sprayer on its head and soap bubbles on its body was about the oddest image he could conjure up. This kid did not even move a tiny muscle. "Well, I have to make this quick anyway. from his hand. "Battle! Odd-Eyes attacks Triamid Dancer!" The dragon killed the catheaded woman with one fire-breath blast. And the battle damage was doubled as usual. But there was less damage than he expected. And right before impact the scenery changed, twice.

Puppet's LP: 7200

 _"A Field swap?"_ Each Triamid possessed the ability to switch one Triamid spell for another, both Triamid Dancer and Hunter used theirs it before the former died. Triamid Cruiser went to the graveyard and Triamid Kingolem the giant in pyramid-armor, took over. Under the effects of Kingolem, all Triamids gained 500 attackpoints. That was why the Dancer(1600/1900) absorbed more of the hit. After her death, the Hunter activated Triamid Fortress the cannon-equipped fort from the deck to take the place of Triamid Kingolem. Returning the attackpoints of the Hunter to normal, while raising his(1900/1600) defense points and making it immune to destruction effects. _"Great. With Triamid Cruiser going to the graveyard, he gets to grab another Triamid monster. And with Kingolem going to the graveyard. He can summon a Triamid from his hand."_ The third effect of the first field spell chose a Triamid Master in the deck, which the boy claimed. The grave effect of Triamid Kingolem special summoned that Triamid Master; a pharaoh-masked wizard(4/1800/1700) in religious red and blue robes. But that was not the only monster to appear.

"You had a Triamid Sphinx!?" When one Triamid fell as a result of battle, the mightiest Triamid could be special summoned from the duelists hand. It was the ferocious living sphinx(10/2500/3000). "Bad news." . The beasts own power added 1500 attackpoints to it(4000/2500). Five-hundred for each unique field spell in the graveyard. "And Triamid Sphinx forces all monsters to attack it while its on the field, so.." Xiangke Magician could not be of any help in this fight. But it could be useful elsewhere. "I end my battle phase. And now I can.. overlay my two monsters!" Xiangke Magician joined with Odd-Eyes to become the foundation for a rank 7 XYZ-summon. "Come out, Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon!" The pendulum dragon took a new form, pale purple skin was covered in armor and scales of ice. This XYZ-monster was another creation of Doms. "Then I set two cards face-down and pass the turn to you!" He wanted to say.

The boy used used the fieldswapping effect of Triamid Master first however. Triamid Fortress was removed and a second Kingolem appeared. The Master(2400/1200), Hunter(2400/1100) and Sphinx(4500/2500) exchanged defense for offense. _"And when Triamid Fortress is sent to the graveyard. A Triamid in the graveyard comes back."_ Uno's opponent moved the destroyed Triamid Dancer to his hand. Then he summoned her(1100/1900) in attack mode. _"Have to wait for the right moment."_ There was one upside to all of this, Uno realized. These duelists, no matter how smart they were, still played more like machines than people. This boy could not 'see' how Uno had a trap waiting for him. Just that he had two. So he made his dueldisk trigger the effect of Triamid Master. "Of course. Triamid Master can sacrifice a field spell, to destroy one set card. Unfortunately." Uno flipped the set card. "I will destroy yours first! I activate Cosmic Cyclone and banish Kingolem!" The Triamids could not replace field spells during their turn, so this was the one chance Uno had to break the cycle. The cyclone would removed the field spell at the cost of 1000 lifepoints.

Uno's LP: 7000

"..." For a second, Uno thought the boy was going to utter a word. He must have been mistaken, as he played Mystical Space Typhoon instead to destroy a spell on the field; his spell. "You wanted it in the graveyard?! Of course.. you.." The Typhoon claimed it before the Cyclone could. _"Another?"_ The boy special summoned a second Triamid Sphinx(10/4000/2500), since a Triamid card had been destroyed. "And Dancer can.." The cat-lady sent the second copy of Kingolem to the boy's deck, giving herself and her clan the power they lost due to Kingolem's destruction. Without a moments hesitation, the attacks were declared. Two Sphinxes(4500/2500) rushed towards Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon. "Odd-Eyes Absolute can negate an attack by detaching an XYZ-material!" Uno detached Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Xiangke Magician from his XYZ-dragon. "Then he can special summon one Odd-Eyes monster from the graveyard!" The second negated attack was followed by the revival of the red dragon(7/2500/2000) in attack position. After that Uno also activated his trap card, Refine Oscillation.

 _Refine Oscillation, Continuous Trap  
_ _Once per turn, during either players turn, you can target 1 card in your Pendulum zone; destroy it, then place 1 Pendulum Monster from your hand, graveyard or extra deck in that pendulum zone.  
_ _Destroy this card during your endphase._

The trap destroyed Performapal Changeraffe, to place the detached Xiangke Magician in the emptied red pendulum zone. Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon was stronger than the remaining Triamids, so it could not be destroyed. Killing Bubble Bowwow with Triamid Master only caused minimal damage too. The boy wordlessly accepted that, placed a trap card down and ended his turn. _"This is taking a while. I can't find the others this way."_ Uno would bet good money that each of them had a puppet visiting them too. And even for mere mindless slaves, these were powerful opponents. So he looked again and finally spotted a way up; a stairwell behind the boy. _"The only way out is through him huh? Okay..."_ Uno used his new scale 3 Magician and Odd-Eyes Unicorn to pendulum summon the Bubble bulldog back from his extra deck. _"But why are they after us? What do they want?!"_

Uno's LP: 6900

...

"The Bishop is playing with the Odd-Eyed duelist. The Rook is meeting his old friend. My Pawn has joined the two-faced Dame. Who should I play with? Should I chase my old Pawn? He is all alone." Martel stood at the edge of the hole he created in the floor, scanning for signs of life. "The Knight is alone too, maybe he can help him." He had so many options and he delighted at the prospect of every one of them

 _"Who is he talking too?"_ Martels one-sided dialogue was observed by an overlooked Eric Stonewell. When the floor collapsed, Stonewell stood at the edge of the destruction. He fell back quickly enough to avoid a deep fall and hid himself in one of the sidetunnels. As far as he knew, he hadn't been spotted yet. _"Knights, Rooks, Pawns.. are those his mind slaves? Well... In any case, this guy is clearly the King of the group. Cut off his head and the rest should go down too."_ Stonewell had a chance to prepare now, to make a sneak attack. If the rules of this battle royal were as loose as Martel described them. He could take his turn in silence and spring his battle phase like a thief in the dark. He just needed to make sure to keep his dueldisk on silent mode, with the visuals turned off. "Okay. I can do my Igknight shuffle." He placed an Igknight Gallant and an Igknight Cavalier card in his pendulum zones. The two destroyed each other with their spell effects, and placed Igknight Margrave in Stonewells hand. He placed that pendulum monster in one zone, and Dragon Horn Hunter in the other. _"This should be enough!"_ He jumped out..

Stonewell's LP: 8000 Queen's LP: 8000

"Gyah!" ... and rushed into a glowing crystal filled cavern. There he was greeted by two faces instead of one. _"This guy still has a piece left to play!?"_ A girl with bright blue eyes and long red hair stood in between him and Martel. "There is the other. The pawn from this world." Martel grinned. "You knew I was here all along huh." His ambush failed. While he took his turn, this girl started hers some time ago. The crystal stalagmite and stalactites belonged to her field spell; Crystolic Potential. On her field was also a face-down trap and a Tuner monster; Crystron Quan. Quan(3/800/800) was a boy-sized robotic knight with wings of clear crystal. Due the field spell Crystolic Potential, all Crystrons like Quan gained 300 attack and defense points. "Do you like her? She is my Queen, one of my first puppets. She will always defend me." Martel said as he placed his right hand on her chin. "She had a name. Tara.. I think. It's been so long. But her cards were special."

"Hey!" The woman was activating more card effects, as if it was her turn already. "No. Those are.. quick effects?" Crystron Quan could summon a Crystron monster from the users hand, during their opponents turn! Tara special summoned Crystron Smiger, a mechanical white tiger(3/1000/1800) with smoke quartz crystals sticking out of its back and joints. "Yes, she can defend me even during your turn." Quan immediately had to tune itself with monster it summoned. "Watch." Martel pulled back as the girl pulled a card from her extra deck. "Synchro summon!?" Quan used the Smiger's crystals to evolve itself, growing into an adult knight(4/2100/2300) with golden spikes and a lions tail coming from its back. "Crystron Quandax. Marvelous. But there is more." Martel explained, as Tara activated her trap card; Crystron Entry. "More?" The trap special summoned two Crystron Tuners; Quan from the graveyard and Crystron Citree(2/800/800) from the hand. Citree was a pigtailed crystal girl with Citreene-colored armor and gems for eyes. "She can special summon a Crystron monster from the graveyard?" Stonewell cringed, as exactly that happened. Citree revived Smiger, and immediately tuned with it for fifth level synchro summon. "Crystron Ametrix!" Martel heralded the arrival of the dragonic devil(5/2800/1500), made from purple amethyst crystals.

"Tch. When can I.." Stonewell just wanted to get his pendulum summon done. But this girl kept chaining effects to summons to effects. And she still had one in her reserve. Quandax tuned with Ametrix. "What? She's going to accel synchro summon?" Quandax was a tuner Crystron as well, one that could start a synchro summon during the opponents turn. "Yes. One synchro and one synchro tuner. That is what my queen uses. To make her ultimate Crystron." Purple, white and gold meshed together into a pure red mix. "Crystron Phoenix!" A titan(9/3100/2300) of red crystal stood at the end of the cave, with phoenixian crystal wings and tailfeather ribbons extending from its back. "Gah!" As soon as Phoenix appeared, Stonewells pendulums disappeared. "It banishes all spells when it's synchro summoned?" Stonewell lost his scales and his chance to pendulum summon. "Indeed. You have a playmate now. I will find someone else. Your other, maybe." Martel waved his hand at him and jumped down the hole. "Wait!" Calling out to him did no good. The puppetmaster was gone and Stonewell was stuck with her _. "I'll get him. I have to!"_

...

"What.." When she could see and hear only destruction, Alice instinctively crouched down and closed her eyes. She felt something hit her and lift her up. "I'm..okay?" When she looked again, she could see Adamant, right in front of her. "Ah!" She freaked a little when she realized he was holding her in his arms. "Do not worry. You are safe." The XYZ-duelist himself was protected by the wings of his Rise Falcon monster. That was what helped him escape the devastation. "Oh. Thank you..." From the look of things, he had taken her all the way to a wide open area where old railways crossed. This underground maze was even bigger than she'd imagined. "Uhm.. can you put me down then?" She wasn't hurt or anything. "..Of course." He put her down while he himself dropped to one knee. "Oh no! Are you hurt?" He looked to be in a slightly worse condition. "Nothing I cannot endure." He took only a few stray cement rocks against the back. "You didn't have to do that." Now she felt bad that he got injured just because he tried to help her. "It was what I wanted to do, Alice."

"Better you than her eh? That's talking like a true leader!" One half of a two-woman act made her presence known. "Phoebe." Adamant grunted. "I do apologize for the mess my friend made. We didn't intend to hurt you that way. Martel just does not follow orders that well. He thinks he's not a pet when he really should be." The other half took over as the sound of her approach got louder. "The fresher his puppets, the less controlled they are. This one we took from your Bunker. Martel calls him a Pawn." Phoebe was not alone. The hooded figure who summoned the monster that started the cave-in was with her. "I think he can give you plenty of that pain you love to shoulder so much, Adamant!" She snapped her fingers and the 'Pawn' made its move. "!" He knocked into Adamant's Rise Falcon with his Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack and pushed the duelist away as well. "Rghah!"

Adamants LP: 8000 Pawn's LP: 8000

"Adamant!" Alice shouted as the Pawn and Adamant fell further into the darkness. There was no way she could follow them. "Tut-tut. You shouldn't fuss about guys like that. It will make your cute face all ugly." The Dame said as she rested her head on her hand and put on an insincere smile. "Why are you doing this?" The girl cried at her. "This? The ambush? The carding? The takeover of all guilds? You're gonna have to be more specific." Phoebe's expression deadpanned. "Everything! What do you want? Why do you want it so much?" Alice yelled even louder as she reactivated her dueldisk. She still had five cards left and would duel her if she had to. "I only want what Adamant wants. What your friend 'Aaron' wanted... to help the two worlds." The woman cackled. "I don't believe that! At least I.. could believe them, believe why they did it! You're worse than everyone!" Aaron only wanted to save those he could. Adamant believed he was following his destiny. What was Phoebe doing this all for? "Oh you're just so adorably innocent. I could just.. huh? What? Yeah I was getting to it! Martel started the duel, not us!"

All of the sudden the two-faced girl began to talk about something else, to someone else. "Huh?" It was not Dame or Phoebe acting crazy; Alice caught a glimpse of an earpiece hidden in her hair. "I am the one in charge now! Not Dame! Ichirou's theory about that prophecy is stupid, but this is... Fine! We will try it your way!" It clearly was not Ichirou on the other end, so perhaps some other accomplice. "You will have to forgive me for that bit of unpleasantness. You know what? You're such a nice girl, I can give you two answers!" The Dame told her all sweetly, before growling something at her accomplice. "MC, put up the footage from the two subjects. You know the one." As ordered, the unseen assistant projected a visual image through the dueldisk. "! Dad! Mrs Stonewell!" Alice was shown a video of her own father, and Erics mother. They were trapped inside of some metallic room. "That's right, take a good look. Two dear loving parents, far removed from their own children. What a sad story. You asked me what we did to your parents, well here is your answer."

"No.. No. Don't hurt them!" Alice shook her head. "Why would I? I only kept them for a get-together like this one. You can get me something, and I will release them. See that's where the second question comes in. What do I want? Why it's simple.. I only want your friends card; Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon."

(To be Continued in Redux 073: Their Side of Their Bargain)

 **New Cards used by Uno  
** Performapal Bubblebowwow  
Perfomapal Changeraffe

-  
Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon

 **Cards used by 'Bishop'  
** Triamid Hunter  
Triamid Dancer  
Triamid Master  
Triamid Sphinx

-  
Triamid Cruiser  
Triamid Kingolem  
Triamid Fortress  
Mystical Space Typhoon

 **Cards used by 'Queen' Tara  
** Crystron Quan  
Crystron Smiger  
Crystron Citree

-  
Crystron Quandax  
Crystron Ametrix  
Crystron Phoenix

-  
Crystolic Potential

-  
Crystron Entry


	18. Their Part of Their Bargain

**Redux 73: Their Part of Their Bargain**

"Odd-Eyes? You want..Odd-Eyes?"

"Yup! Should be a cinch, right? Uno wont miss it!" Dame tried to play her request off as something harmless, but Alice knew better. "Why do you need it?" If this woman was willing to threaten her parents, then her reasons could not be simple. "Why? Do you really want to be asking these questions? The less you know the better. Just help me, and I will let your dad return to your ordinary innocent life." Phoebe's crueler voice came in, though Dame's affections still sweetly tried to placate the girl. "How..how do I know you wont hurt him anyway? How do I know they are even real?" People could fake anything with holograms these days. "Oh they are real. And closer to us than you think. Would I know that you were adopted, if I didnt have dear old James?" Alice winced, while the twofaced girl laughed. "Exactly! Trust my other half. If we don't do anything, the world is doomed. But if we do get it.. then we can maybe bring some magic back to the world. Wouldn't that be wonderful, Alice? I know you'd like that. So just say _yes_."

".." Alice fell silent, for what seemed like an eternity. It would be so easy to give in, to surrender to Phoebe and blame it all on her threats. But this was not just about her family. A little voice in her head was screaming at her to not believe a word that came out of that twisted mouth. Any arrangements would only bring temporary safety. She knew Emily would never have agreed. Dad would probably tell her that it would be okay no matter what choice she made. But Alice didn't want to hide behind their words either. _"What do I.. want?"_ The truth was there behind all conflicting fears. "No."

Alice's LP: 8000 Phoebe's LP: 8000

"No?" Phoebe's eye twitched. "That is..what I said. It's my turn!" Alice drew a card from her deck for further emphasis. "I will hurt your father, Alice. Don't think I wont!" Phoebe snarled at her. "Then I.. then I just wont let you! I will stop you right here!" Alice activated the Nekroz of Brionac and discarded it to add an Exa Enforcer of the Nekroz card to her hand. "I activate Nekroz Cycle!" She played her grave-ritual spell. The sacrifices were Exa (level 5) and the Sphere Kuriboh (level 1) who could be banished from the graveyard as an extra tribute. Thanks to Nekroz Cycle, the tributed Exa would also take a dragon-type Nekroz from the deck. Alice chose to add Valkyrus of Catastor. "Nekroz of Brionac!" The dragon-armor knight(6/2300/1600) was ritual summoned from the graveyard. And with its appearance, two monsters special summoned from the extra deck had to leave the field. "You.." Phoebe's Frightfur Sabretooth(8/2800/2000) and Frightfur Leo(6/2800/2000) returned to the extra deck. "He attacks!" Brionac grabbed his sword and swung it once to freeze and shatter Phoebe's last monster; Edge Imp Frightfuloid(4/1300/1300).

Phoebe's LP: 7000

" _You_ are going to stop us? Heeheeheh." A toothy grin framed the Dame's face. "I guess you don't care about your fake parents that much! And here I thought you would snap like a twig. You still have that fighting nerve in you, the same nerve that took Adamant by surprise. Come to think of it.. we never did get that showdown in the tournament." If Alice made it to the finals, Phoebe would have been her final opponent. The fusion leader took the earpiece from her ear. "Sorry MC. But not really. I want to have my fun" She tossed the device aside as it released muffled rants. "Fun? The tournament?" Alice couldn't believe what she was talking about now. "The tournament is where that all stopped. This is not a game!" She activated the continuous spell, Ritual Cage, to make her ritual monsters immune to targeting effects and battle damage. Then Alice's turn ended. "Oh no. It's so much more! Oh I would have played along, if Roma didn't ruin the plan. Adamants guild was the one who broke the rules first! So I don't feel guilty at all aaaaaaaaaanymore."

Knight's LP: 8000

"Huh!?" Beckoned by Phoebe's cry, a hooded figure joined the battle royal. "Say hi to Luther! Martel calls him his Knight, but maybe you met him before? He was a member of the Synchro guild." Dame formally introduced the man under the hood. "I.." He looked vaguely familiar, with deep brown eyes and black mullet-hair. "No? Well it doesn't matter. He defied us when we took over their castle, so Martel punished him. See that is what we're gonna do to your loved ones and to you if you insist on this duel. If you don't wanna help, you can just be on time out!" The Knight drew a sixth card from his deck, as his turn was now going after Alice's. "But that's.." Now it was two against one. "Not fair? The world is not fair. I learned that, you learned that. People always want one thing while someone else wants the other. And nobody can have everything.. even if you divide time by two, the world is so painfully small. But _we_ will change that.. Alice!"

...

Iria's LP: 2400 Zach's LP: 8000

When Iria fell down the cracks, she ensured she would go where Zach went by grabbing the solidified Mozarta hologram. The two disciples floated down to a side area with steel arches and stair platforms. Another abandoned construction zone it seemed. "Creffield! He's gone! Fight whatever it is that's controlling you!" As soon she found the strength to yell, she directed her words towards her opponent. Zach sent nothing but vacant stare her way in return. "I thought you would have been stronger than this." The duel would continue with the situation not favoring her. Iria had no monsters, only Domain of The True Monarchs. And while Zach controlled Mozarta the Melodious Diva(8/2600/2000), he and everyone else on his side were free to special summon monsters in the extra deck. That was, if that effect could even get to duelists she could not see. _"Our lifepoints are separate, but are our fields too? Is there some sort of range effect in place?"_ Regardless, three cards were all she could set down, in the spell/trap zone. "Creffield. It is your turn."

Zach displayed few signs of life, as he started his turn and breezed through his phases. The only way tell which monster effects were activated was by following the action prompts he pushed on the dueldisk. "The Crystal Rose.." The first action was taken by Zach's new crystal flower(2/500/500). It sent another Melodious from the deck to the graveyard, Score the Melodious Diva. _"If the Fusion guild has the power to 'revamp' entire effects, they must have taken UNO's cardprinter.. as well as full control of Dreamworld."_ While Iria's expectations turned darker, Zach moved to the second action. Shopina the Melodious Maestra(6/2300/1700) took another light-type monster back from the graveyard. That card, Serenade the Melodious Diva(3/400/1900), was normal summoned. The third action began with Mozarta's effect. The Maestra in the red dress special summoned another angelic monster from the duelist's hand; Soprano the Melodious Songstress(4/1400/1400). That effect was immediately followed by Soprano's effect. Her special summoned entrance sent Score the Melodious Diva from the graveyard to Zach's hand.

"It figures. Now it's time for a fusion summon." Soprano could fuse herself with one Melodious monster on the field to create a Melodious fusion monster. Zach took her and Serenade, and placed both in the graveyard. The new fusion dove out of the fusing maelstrom of purple and orange colors. "Schuberta.." It was the long-redhaired Maestra(6/2400/2000) with the golden butterfly mask. Schuberta could banish up to three cards in any players graveyard to raise her own attack. "..So." With a simple wave of her baton she(3000/2000) removed Eidos, Mega Caius and Zach's own Serenade. "This is how you want to finish me. With the power of your new guild?" The battle phase could begin, and it was Mozarta who started things off. "But I shall not let you, Creffield! I activate Oath of Companionship!" Iria flipped the first trap. "Due to the current absence of extra deck monsters on my field, I can take the one you control right now!" Oath of Companionship took control of Schuberta the other Maestra. "Remember Creffield? I never saw the need for fusions and the like. And you did too once, before you let your passion for 'flair' get the better of you!"

Zach only had one answer, a quickplay spell card. "Flash Fusion?" The instant fusion spell targeted Shopina and the Crystal Rose that currently carried the name of the Melodious Serenade. "One Maestra and one Diva.. you are fusing Bloom Diva?" This time a flower sprang from the fusion vortex, Shopina and the Rose merged into Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir(6/1000/2000). "Tcheh. Now that I actually have a special summoned monster." The BloomDiva's effects were useless against Iria's normal summoned Monarchs. But if she attacked Schuberta now, Iria would lose that monster and 1400 lifepoints. "Don't take me lightly, even as a puppet!" Thus Iria revealed her second trap; Escalation of the Monarchs. "I summon Thestalos!" She could sacrifice Schuberta to perform a tribute summon in his turn. The firestorm Monarch(6/2400/1000) was the best choice, because it would destroy a card in Zach's hand when it was summoned. "I burn your left card!" That card was Score the Melodious Diva. Zach had to discard it and twice lose 200 lifepoints for both of her level stars. "..." Without Score's effect, Zach could not reduce Thestalos' attackpoints to zero. Not that it mattered, since he already had to cancel Mozarta's attack. Now she could retaliate.

Zach's LP: 7600

"Aha!" Except then Eric Stonewell jumped in from left field and drew his card. "Iria! I'll help you!" He came in rushing through a door above a raised platform. "Eric? How did you get here?" Iria was not so much surprised that he showed up to save her, again. But moreso that he caught up with them both. "Just happened to land near you. Nobody was coming after me, so I looked the action up instead! But like you said, let's not waste time talking!" For his first turn of the battle royal Eric activated Pot of Desires to banish the top ten cards from his deck face-down and draw two cards. The drawn cards were not as important as the banished ones. "Go, Gren Maju Da Eiza!" Because his red serpent demon(4000/4000)'s attack and defense points were equal to his banished cards times 400. He had a big beater right away. "That Mozarta is the big problem here, isn't it? So let me get rid of it!" Gren Maju prepared a massive fireball that lit up the entire dungeon-like room. "Burn Maestra burn!" The fire was released and the Maestra vanished behind a curtain of flames.

Zach's LP: 3600

"Huh. That did a lot more than... it should have." Eric thought the lifepoint meter was busted for a second. "Ah!" No such luck. Mozarta(100/2000) emerged from the firesea, weakened yet also alive. "Pianissimo." Iria spotted the cause. "That spell?" Zach used his quickplay spell Pianissimo, to reduce his own monsters attackpoints this turn and to make it indestructible. "He took more damage, just to make sure Mozarta stuck around?" He asked as he placed three trap cards face-down. "Why?" Eric might have been influenced by Martel, but he was never affected to such an extent. Naturally Zach was not going to give him an answer.

"The Rook serves his King." Luckily/unluckily, Martel could. "Gah! Damn it! When did you.." Neither Eric nor Iria heard him coming. The puppetmaster appeared from the shadows by lighting his own dueldisk up. "Everyone has taken a turn now. I can finally take mine." Martel drew a card and normal summoned a new Shaddoll monster. This one(2/600/1400) resembled a stuffed and blackened falcon, held up by the same strings as Shadoll Hedgehog's. "Wait. Is that how that works? Doesn't that make it six against seven?" Eric saw how many puppets Martel controlled, and their numbers weren't very fairly divided. "Playing fair is beneath me. There is a reason I am One and Six." He discarded a card from his hand... so that he could activate Super Polymerization. "Whahey!?" Before Eric realized it, Gren Maju Da Eiza was torn apart and sucked into a vicious fusion. Super Polymerization could target monsters on both fields for a fusion summon. "Fire. Shaddoll. Left. Right. Two. One." Martel locked his hands together. "FUSION SUMMON! El Shaddoll GRYSTA!" The Shaddoll Falco and fire demon were reborn as a marionette knight(7/2450/1950) with wings of fire. It looked like a gemknight, possessed by a one-horned helmet.

"Shaddoll Falco. When it enters the cemetery, it returns alive but hidden." Martel activated the effect of one of the fused materials. The Falcon doll summoned itself back in face-down defense position. "And Shaddoll Dragon, when it enters the cemetery, destroys one spell or trap." The card he discarded for Super Polymerization activated its effect too; breaking the pillars of the Monarchs True Domain. "Ggh. Why didn't you use my monster for a sacrifice?" Iria asked him. Thestalos was a fire-type too after all. "The strongest are the first to die. And I already have a queen. I can always use a new Pawn." That was his reasoning. "You.. you made me backstab my friends!" Those words sparked Eric's anger like a wildfire. "Friends aren't necessary. Everyone uses everyone. I just take it to the next step. I save everyone. You should never have left me, pawn." Martel smirked and declared a direct attack with Grysta. The fire knight shot flames straight at Eric. "Ragh!" And while Eric rolled against the floor to avoid the fire of the attack, Martel turned off his dueldisk's visualizer and vanished into the dark. "Where are you going? Damn you! Get Back here!"

Eric's LP: 5550

"Eric. Think before you act! He is trying to tempt you into another trap!" Iria hissed. "..Yrgh. So what am I supposed to do?" Eric could stick with her and help. "I did not ask for your help in the first place." Her turn could now finally start. "Hey, two guys butted in on your duel. I thought this was the best way to repay the favor!" If Martel could mess around, so could they. "... We have been here before." Iria sighed. "I appreciated your contribution, Eric. Yet if you are here, that means someone else is outnumbered. Use the disk tracker, find another to assist. I can assure you, I am in control here." She declared assuredly. "..Okay. I guess. But before I go." Eric flipped one of this traps, Breakthrough Skill. Bloomdiva was targeted and its effects were negated. "I'll give you this! Now you can take down the other fusion!" He walked back up the stairs, heading the opposite way. "Oh and Iria. I know what it feels like to have your head messed with. I don't recommend it." With that warning he left. Iria stayed behind with her companion. "Hmm. Thank you." She said softly, and entered the battle phase. "Zach. I attack Bloomdiva!" The Melodious Choir was destroyed instantly by the Firestorm Monarch.

Zach's LP: 2200

 _"What I said.."_ With Eric gone, Iria began to wonder. _"Maybe I am doing this wrong.. Or maybe nothing will work."_ The harsh approach wasn't working with Zach regardless. "End turn." All he listened to were those two words, so he could quickly begin his counterattack. Zach's Crystal Rose special summoned itself to his field by banishing the fusion Schuberta from the graveyard. The rose copied the name of a random Melodious in the deck. And then the Disciple activated Fusion Substitute to summon the third and final Melodious; Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir(8/1900/2000). The two fusion materials added 300 attackpoints to the maiden(2500/2000) in the yellow dress. "Zach.. I always found that name sounded.. classless. I suppose it made it easier to look down on you. You acted like an oaf so many times.. Yet so did the master. He only acted the part, but you.. had fun doing it. This is not how you want to duel." Though talking to him changed nothing, she still wanted to. "You could have had a different life. So could I. I've seen that now." Zach ignored her and declared the first attack that Bloom Prima could make.

"So I will make sure nobody else chooses your life for you!" Iria flipped the trap card, The Monarchs Erupt. "As I have a tribute summoned monster on the field, the effects of all your monsters are negated!" Thestalos erupted with a blazing fury, and burned all of Bloom Prima's flowers and flowerpetals. Without her powers, the Choir mistress(1900/2000) went back to her original attackpoints. The attack would continue regardless. "But in this instance, it's too late to change your mind!" The fusion died to the Firestorm Monarch's counterattack. "..." Zach showed no reaction to the pain this time either and simply moved on to the second main phase. As Bloom Prima died, a Melodious card returned from the graveyard via her last effect. He took the Melodious Songstress Soprano and set her face-down. Then he activated the grave-effect of Fusion Substitute; banishing that spell and Bloom Diva to draw a card from the deck. That card was also placed face-down in the spell/trap zone. His disk signaled the end of the turn after that.

Zach's LP: 1800

"I can see you." Iria had a choice now. "I summon Granmarg!" By tributing Thestalos for Granmarg the Rock Monarch(6/2400/1000), she was given the option to destroy one set card; the monster or the trap. "It could be a bluff, your face wouldn't reveal it. But your mind... if you are still allowed to think like a duelist, you'd remember I prefer the safer routes. Then I choose... the other!" Granmarg pulled up a series of rock slabs that crushed the set Melodious from all sides. "It ends this turn!" She went for the direct attack option, Granmarg prepared his next rocky assault for Zach himself.

Zach's trap flipped. "Krystal Avatar?" It was a trapmonster that responded to a lethal attack declaration. It made a crystal reflection of Zach himself and that 'Avatar'(4/1800/1800)'s stats were equal to Zach's lifepoints. Granmargs attacks were redirected towards the Avatar. "If the Avatar is destroyed, I lose lifepoints equal to its attackpoints. Is that your last trick or one Martel forced you to use? I suppose we are even one way or another. Dom gave me a trick too." Iria activated a quickplay spell from her hand. "I activate Magical Sky Mirror! One of your spells in the graveyard is re-activated!I choose Pianissimo!" She held the mirror in her hand, which reflected the piano spell card. "I reduce your monsters attackpoints to zero, and it cannot be destroyed in battle anymore!" The Avatar(1/0/0) became brittle and invincible simultaneously. "When I say it is the end, I mean it! You know that Zach! This is your partner.. telling you to wake up!" Granmarg's attack overwhelmed the trapmonster and pressed on to Zach. The Rook went down...

Zach's LP: 0

 _Magical Sky Mirror, Quickplay Spell_  
 _Target the last spell card that was sent to your opponent's graveyard; banish it and, if appropriate, activate its effect on either side of the field._

(To be Continued in Redux 072: Cold but not Lonely)

 **New Cards used by Alice Brandt  
** Ritual Cage

 **New Cards used by Iria Silver  
** Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch

-  
 _Magical Sky Mirror (+)_

-  
The Monarchs Erupt

 _(+ Reworked version of the spell used by Yuya in YGO Arc-V)_

 **New Cards used by Zachary Creffield  
** Pianissimo

-  
Krystal Avatar

 **New Cards used by Martel  
** Shaddoll Falco  
Shaddoll Dragon

-  
El Shaddoll Grysta

-  
Super Polymerization


	19. Cold but not Lonely

**Redux 72: Cold but not Lonely**

Flake expected to be rescued from his barrier prison. Yet the form his rescuer took was more than he bargained for. "Yes, one of them did carry your appearance, inquisitor." The grand inquisitor herself marched into the station to shut off the dueldisk that imprisoned him. "Then it was the same group from yesterday. Where did they go?" Silver interrogated the duelist, while she studied her counterpart's unusual dueldisk. "They went down the stairs to use the subway tunnels. I don't know where they went after that. I am sorry." Flake groveled at her feet. "I know you are, don't waste my time on apologies. Or you will be punished again." She spat. She had already demoted him all the way down to scale 1. "Yes, my Inquisitor." Flake bowed to her and let himself get escorted out of the hall. "Hmph. They wouldn't be foolish enough to use the main tunnels. So where are they going?" Her one eye glared into the lower levels. "Secure all exits. Nobody gets in or out." She yelled at the templars and enforcers around her. These people were not as simple as she at first assumed.

...

Stonewells LP: 8000 Queen's LP: 8000

"I don't know who you were, miss. But I've got other places to be." Stonewell was locked in a battle with Martels apparently favorite mindless puppet, the Crystron duelist Tara. She controlled her accel synchro monster Crystron Phoenix(9/3100/2300) and the tuner Crystron Quan(1/800/800). Both were powered up by the crystal cave field spell Crystolic Potential. Stonewell had to make do with no monsters at all, and two set trap cards. To make matters even worse, Crystolic Potential allowed Tara to replenish her hand. The field spell gave her a draw during his endphase for each Crystron monster she had synchro summoned; three in total "If you're going to attack. Just hit me!" Despite him ending his turn already, she did not rush hers. First she summoned the crystalline bird, Crystron Rosenix(4/2100/1300). Then she banished her Crystron Entry trap from the graveyard to activate that card's secondary effect. That effect sent a Crystron monster to the graveyard and placed the discarded card's level on Rosenix(3/2100/1300). The discarded Crystron Thystvern (level 3), had its own effect while it was dead and buried. Tara banished Thystvern to add a new Crystron to her hand, Crystron Sulphafnir. "Fine, take as long as you want." The worst part was not knowing how far his opponent could take it. Stonewell's life was in her hands.

Cryston Sulphafnir possessed a special summon effect. The golden crystal dragon(5/2300/1800) called itself in defense mode, and destroyed one card on the field immediately afterwards. Tara destroyed the Quan tuner. Crystron Rosenix likewise owned a destruction and summon effect. The rose bird destroyed the Sulphafnir dragon, to special summon a Crystron tuner from the deck. At the same time, a destroyed Sulphafnir could special summon any Crystron monster, but in defense mode. Crystron Citree(2/800/800) and a second Crystron Smiger(3/1300/2100) were special summoned. _"She's got some good moves, annoyingly.."_ Crystron Smiger has the same powers as Rosenix. Tara activated an Iron Call spell to revive Crystron Quan with its effects negated. And she and allowed Smiger to destroy it, just so it could special summon a Crystron Quan tuner(1/800/800) from the deck that had all of its abilities unlocked. "Here we go." Immediately Tara tuned the Citree tuner with Smiger to synchro summon a second Crystron Ametrix(5/2800/1800). Now she had enough attackpoints to end things. So the fight began. And when the first attack declaration came, Stonewell literally fired back with a trap. "I activate Scorched Earth!"

 _Scorched Earth, Normal Trap  
_ _Return all face-up field spells to the top of their owners deck. Then add 1 'field spell' from your deck to your hand._

"Your cave goes away, and I add Ignition Phoenix to my hand!" His trap caused a napalm eruption in the Crystolic cave, setting off a field-wide purge. Crystolic Potential left the board, leaving the Crystrons with 300 less attack and defense points. Phoenix(2800/2000)'s rain of burning crystals hit hard nonetheless. "Hgh!" But Stonewell weathered the storm. Ametrix(2500/1500), Rosenix(1800/1300) and Quan(500/500) struck first with shards of amethyst, rose quartz and clear crystal in turn. "Geheh!" His coat was torn up, and cuts formed on his hands and face. "Was that all you got? Ha!" It was survivable. He would endure much more just to get to the City.

Stonewell's LP: 400

Of course. Surviving was one thing. Fighting back would take a lot more. If he even dared to set new spells this turn, Tara would retaliate with an accel synchro summon of another Crystron Phoenix. He needed a way to stop her. "Draw!" Someone up there apparently heard him. Because his deck gave him a solution. "..Heh. Too bad your Crystrons can't use their effects during the standby phase." The very instant the main phase came, his card was played. "Spell card; HeatWave! From the start of the main phase, until my next turn; neither player can special summon effect monsters!" The air in the tunnels got a lot hotter as the Heatwave took effect. "How about that? No chance for your tuner to summon something. No floating from your synchros! You can't do anything! Meanwhile all my Igknight pendulums are.. normal monsters! I can summon as many as I want!" He gloated. Tara had nothing to add. "I am sure your master wouldn't find it funny either. I think you'll be much happier if I win."

"I activate my field spell, Ignition Phoenix.. and my permanent trap card, Igknight Burst!" Stonewell brought his own phoenix, made from flames of magic. "My field spell can spell destroy Igknight cards and trade them! I destroy Igknight Burst and take another Igknight Cavalier! No need to confuse you with my nicknames I suppose." The phoenix of flames flew through the continuous trap and reduced it to ashes. "When Igknight Burst is destroyed, It can also return one of the Igknights in my extra deck to my hand!" As a result of both effects, Stonewell claimed the Igknight Cavalier from the extra deck along with the Cavalier from his deck. "I set them in the pendulum zone and destroy them!" The Igknights (scale 2) used their self-combustion effects to search a different Igknight. "I take Igknight Paladin. Or as I like to call him, Igknight Musket!" Stonewell grabbed the musketeering Paladin (scale 2) from the deck and placed him on his right side. "I set him and my Sky Dragoons of Draconia pendulum monster!" The left pendulum zone was taken by a saurian archer riding a pteranodon beast (scale 7).

"Pendulum summon!" All the Igknights in the extra deck were brought to the field; two Igknight Cavaliers(6/2400/1200) and one Igknight Gallant(6/2100/2200). While they stood in front of the ignited phoenix, their attack and defense went up by 300 points. "You will thank me for this later. I attack your tuner!" Gallant(2400/2500) fired first, blasting through Crystron Quan with his gatling gun. "When a normal monster inflicts battle damage, Sky Draconia can destroy one card you control. Obviously, that's your accel synchro monster!" The Sky dragoon temporarily left the pendulum zone to circle around Crystron Phoenix. He released several arrows into the crimson crystal machine, until it burst like heated glass. "Now your other monsters!" The two Cavalier knights(2700/1500) threw their throwing knives into the bodies of Crystron Rosenix and Ametrix until they turned into a pile of gem dust. "I hope that gets us somewhere. Don't you?" Stonewell didn't know why he was talking to her still. Maybe he hoped that her real self could at least hear him.

Queen's LP: 5000

"..." But Martels hold was too strong, her lifepoints too high. As Stonewell was literally out of cards to play, she forcibly started her turn. The deck returned Crystolic Potential to her hand, which she reactivated. Then she banished Crystron Smiger from her hand to add a Crystron trap from her deck to her hand; Crystron Impact. "What are you up too this time?" His opponent placed two cards down in the spell/trap zone and did nothing else. He got his real answer as soon as the next turn started. It was not his turn. "Whatthe.."

Martels LP: 8000

"You? You came back?" Martel emerged behind him, with his dueldisk's lights revealing his presence. That slippery bastard snuck up on him again! "I changed my mind. I want this Pawn now." He stroked that damn creepy doll of his again and drew a card from his deck. "It's your turn? The hell? Where did those monsters come from?" The shadowduelist already controlled a set monster and a fusion monster(7/2450/1950) on his field. "It is my second turn. Everyone has had two turns." He claimed. "And I'm supposed to take your word for it?" Stonewells protests were all in vain. Martel flipped his face-down Shaddoll Falco(2/600/400) and activated its flip effect. "Take Shaddoll Dragon in my graveyard; summon it face-down." The dark bird pulled the corrupted corpse of a Yangzing dragon out of the cemetery with its own strings and set it down. Meanwhile Tara the Queen activated her Crystron Impact trap. "Queen, give me Crystron Thystvern." Crystron Impact was a special summon trap for one banished Crystron. The amethyst wyvern(3/1500/1500) was fully re-assembled. "Why that one?"

"There is a reason I am one and six. There are six colors. Her color is blue. All Crystrons are water." Martel continued.. and activated El Shaddoll Fusion. "A Fusion spell for Shaddolls?" Shaddoll Dragon and Thystvern were merged. "The materials are Shaddoll and Water! FUSION SUMMON! El Shaddoll ANOYATYLLIS!" A large construct formed at the center. On its body limbs, arms and an emotionless womans face were attached. Then it gained infernal armor and a dragonic aura of purple energy. "That looks like.. his card?" The armor made Stonewell think of his counterparts Infernoids; specifically Infernoid Devyaty. "While the other Eric was my puppet, we crafted this fusion." Martel then pointed a finger at Ignition Phoenix, and it suddenly exploded into a rain of embers. "Damn, that dragon!" Shaddoll Dragons destruction effect had gone off because it went into the graveyard again. Now Stonewell lost his field spell and his Igknights lost their powerboosts. "No!" El Shaddoll Grysta and El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis attacked Igknight Gallant(2100/2200) and Cavalier(2400/1200). "Welcome." The two attacks resulted in two deaths, and the extinguishing of his remaining life.

Stonewell's LP: 0

"Guaaah!" The flames and thunder of the fire Shaddoll and water Shaddoll pushed Stonewell to the edge of the hole in the tunnel. "Now you are mine." Martel advanced on him, with his dueldisk lights glowing red. "You think.. I will just do what you want?" If it was a choice between being a slave or taking the fall, he knew which option he'd pick. "You already cannot escape." But he was hesitating. Something about that mans voice numbed him, made him tired. "No.. No damn it." Martel was right there, the last thing he saw. "You wont get away with this! You'll pay for.." Stonewell fell unconscious. "Better." Martel placed a trap and a monster face-down and ended his turn. "Sleep..and wait for.."

"?" Martel was interrupted by a low rumbling. "Which is this?" The puppetmaster and the Queen glared to their left. The noise was getting louder and louder until.. The floor and walls broke open further, and a hapless duelist was thrown upwards by the blast of a Dragon. The duelist was Bishop, the dragon was Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon. Its controller rode him like a steed, and flew into the upper tunnels. "That's enough Martel!" Uno shouted.

...

Adamant's LP: 5400 Pawn's LP: 2400

"Rank-Up-Magic Revolution Force!" Adamants battle cries could be heard at the end of the shadows, as he settled matters with his opponent. "Raid Raptor - Satellite Cannon Falcon!" His rank-up-spell took the enemy's rank 7 Mecha Phantom Beast XYZ-monster and evolved it into the space cannon falcon(8/3000/3000). "Direct attack!" As the turn passed the opponent lacked cards to put in between him and the overwhelming blasts from the winged Satellite. The Pawns lifepoints dropped to zero. And his body dropped to the ground unconscious. "Rest now, soldier."

Pawns LP: 0

"I didn't think I would find you first." That was when Iria Silver made her unexpected entrance. "You.. also succeeded in taking down your adversary?" Adamant saw her and Zachary Creffield, the latter was carried by her. "Yes." She didn't want to talk about that. "I followed the sound of your voice. The others are scattered.. and outnumbered." She could see everyone's location on the dueldisk map, and things did not look good for them. "Then we will help them. And we wont be slowed down."

...

Uno's LP: 6900 Bishop's LP: 7200

How Uno got to that point was the easy part. Uno already controlled all the materials; Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon(7/2500/2000) and Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon(7/2800/2500). "Xiangke Magician!" He also had the pendulum magician that could change an XYZ-monsters rank into a level with its spell effect. Absolute Dragon turned into a level 7 monster, which could be overlayed with the Pendulum dragon. "I XYZ-summon Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!" By attaching an XYZ-monster to the supreme XYZ-dragon(7/3000/2500), its full destructive power was unlocked. "Destroy all monsters with a level of seven and below!" His opponent controlled five targets; Triamid Hunter(4/1900/1100), Triamid Master(2300/700) and Triamid Dancer(4/1100/1900) were the ones who could not avoid the Rebellion Dragons effect and were struck by arced lightning. That just left the two Triamid Sphinxes(10/4000/4000). "You take 1000 points of damage for each destroyed monster!" The following explosion was what opened the path to the upper tunnels and allowed Uno to see how he needed to fly. Bishop and him took their turbulent ride all the way to Martel.

Bishop's LP: 4200

"I am not letting you turn Eric into your slave.. again!" Odd-Eyes Rebellion now hovered over the unconscious Stonewell and made sure Martel kept his distance. "The Odd-eyed one. I wanted to see you." Martel stared at both him and his monster with an almost 'awake' expression. "My Bishop." First however he walked over to his fallen puppet. "You aren't done yet." Martel made him rise with a simple flick of the finger, like he was pulling Bishop up with an invisible string. "You want him to go through more of that? It's over!" Uno could not lose this duel at this point. And Bishop looked injured already. "I am not hurting him." Martel smiled. "But you are okay with me doing it. You're making me!" Uno could not turn off the solid visions in this battle royal. Somehow the king could turn all holograms into real monsters in this game. "It is not done. End the turn, if it hurts to see him in pain. Either way. You must finish him first." The King jumped back, hiding behind Bishops monsters.

"Argh." Uno did not have a choice. "Odd-Eyes Rebellion, attack!" The XYZ-dragon charged. "I activate Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorns effect too! She adds the attackpoints of a Performapal to my attacking Odd-Eyes for this battle phase!" The Unicorn siphoned energy from Performapal Bubblebowwow(5/2300/1000) and placed it on the Pendulum-XYZ(5300/2500). "Odd-Eyes Rebellion gets three attacks since it destroyed monsters with its effect!" It released two massive thunder shots at the Triamid Sphinxes. ".." Though Bishop could not save his monsters, he could punish Uno for his action. He flipped a continuous trap that created a sphinx statue. "Dimension Sphinx?!" This trap targeted one attack-position monster and inflicted damage to the opponent if the target was attacked by a stronger monster. The damage would be equal to the difference between the two monsters attackpoints. "You're letting him get hurt, just to get to me?" Uno felt his body seize up as the Sphinx sapped 2300 of his lifepoints away. "You will not.. stop me with guilt!" Uno continued his triple strike. The first two blasts obliterated the Triamids. The third electrified Bishop. He was not even allowed to scream.

Bishop's LP: 0 Uno's LP: 4700

"You stopped him. He was not a very good puppet." Martel gave his fallen slave a scowl as he was knocked out by the pain. "He was more than that!" Uno growled. "Do you know that? He is nothing to you. I took him from his home in this world to give him purpose. There is no greater purpose than to be one of mine. Now you disconnected him." One of the human cards in Martels dueldisk burned up, the card with Bishops' face on it. _"I did it?"_ It looked like Uno had at least freed Bishop from being mindcontrolled, but the worst wasnt over yet. "Wait. Did you say that you got him from this world? Does that mean that.. you're from this world too?!" It was a wild assumption, but it would clarify a great deal of things. "Yes. That was me too. Thanks to me, the fusion guild could enter this world." Martel was happy to exposit on his accomplishments at least. "You did that? How?" The XYZ-guild created their portal, the Synchro guild used synchronization. What did his guild use? "I will tell you, if you give me something." The puppetmaster pointed a finger. "Give you.. my dragon?" He was pointing towards Odd-Eyes Rebellion, specifically towards one of the XYZ-materials circling it. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon? Why would you.."

"Oh." It all came together now. "The fourth dragon. You need the fourth dragon!" The guilds already collected the original Starve Venom Fusion Dragon, Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. All of those used his Odd-Eyes as the template. "But why? You already have the code to decrypt Doms data... don't you?" The decryption key was only divided three ways. That was what the cardmaker claimed. "..Maybe, you don't? Of course!" Dom did have control of Uno's deck for a brief period during the tournament. It would have been easy for that man to insert some data into Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon too. "He tricked us all along. Good thing too." The guilds did not have the cards of legend yet. That was why they were chasing him.

"All of that is true. We desire it, and we will have it." Martel made another pulling motion with his hand to call his Queen back to the frontline. "Ugh. I forgot about her." Uno grunted. "Bowwow!" He made a direct attack against her with his Performapal to decrease her lifepoints further. But the Queen activated her face-down quickplay spell: Magnet Reverse. Said spell could revive any a machine or rock-type monster that could not be normal summoned. "Oh boy." She special summoned Crystron Phoenix(9/3100/2300) from the graveyard. With Crystolic Potential powering it up, it was a match for Odd-Eyes Rebellion(3000/2500). "Ugh.." Uno had to end his turn, and also let his Refine Oscillation trap card destroy itself. "All we need is to control it. Then we will have the code. First the dragon needs to be free." Martel stepped back while Phoenix attacked. Streams of ruby-red flames assaulted the XYZ-monster and scattered its ashes. Afterwards Tara banished the second Thystvern from her graveyard, to add a Crystron Rosenix monster to her hand. Then she placed a trap card and ended her turn. "In time, it will be mine. And so.. will you. I want you, Uno. You are special like me; one of a kind. I cannot wait to have you."

Uno's LP: 4600

(To be Continued in Redux 071: What Smiles may Hide)

 **New Cards used by Stonewell  
** Igknight Paladin  
Sky Dragoons of Draconia

-  
Heatwave  
Ignition Phoenix

 _-  
Scorched Earth_

 **New Cards used by Queen 'Tara'  
** Crystron Rosenix  
Crystron Thystvern  
Crystron Sulphafnir

-  
Iron Call  
Magnet Reverse

-  
Crystron Impact

 **New Cards used by Martel  
** El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis

-  
El Shaddoll Fusion

 **New Cards used by Bishop  
** Dimension Sphinx


	20. What Smiles may Hide

**Redux 71: What Smiles may Hide**

Alice's LP: 8000 Dame Phoebe's LP: 7000 Knight's LP: 8000

Two against one; two turns before Alice could take hers again. It wasn't fair. They didn't care. The synchro-duelist and Knight puppet summoned his first monster, Shiranui Spiritmaster, the Shiranui clans fire priest(4/1500/0) that could special summon undead spirits from its masters hand if those monsters had no defense points. The Master special summoned a Shiranui Solitaire, the clans hermit(4/0/500). "Fire against water and ice. Seems like a good match-up to me!" Phoebe twirled as Shiranui Solitaire activated his own ability. It could be tributed for another Shiranui. Solitaire gave his life and Shiranui Spectralsword; a haunted blue-flame sword(2/800/0) was summoned from the deck. "A tuner." The fact that Alice was dueling someone from Emily's guild was painfully obvious. The spectral sword tuned with Shiranui Spiritmaster to form a level 6 synchro warrior, Shiranui Samuraisaga(6/2500/0). It attacked immediately. The Samurai grabbed the fire sword and decapitated the Nekroz of Brionac(6/2300/1700). However the battle damage was nullified by Alice's Ritual Cage. "Not my preferred summoning method. Buuuut Martel loves what he loves!" Dame giggled while she waited for the Knight to end things.

His turn was done as soon as he placed two trap cards face-down. "My turn!" And the dame took over. She shuffled her dueldisk to her right wrist. "Ooh I have so many toys to show you, Alice!" Dame's fingers danced across her cards and pulled one out. "First my Fluffy Bear. I send him on a trip to get the Toy Vendor!" Discarding Fluffal Bear was the cost for its effect; setting the Toy Vendor continuous spell on the field. "Gogogo!" The fusion duelist flipped that spell up and activated it. Toy Vendor discarded one card, Edge Imp Chain, to draw one from the deck. "Yay! It's Fluffal Octo!" Since the drawn card was a Fluffal, Toy Vendor could special summon it. A capsule rolled down the toybox's tongue and popped open to reveal a stuffed pink octopus(1/800/800). "When Fluffal Octo is summoned, I can recycle one of my old toys..""Or my old Edge Imps!" Phoebe switched the disk back to the other arm as she reached into the graveyard to grab Edge Imp Saw. "And since Edge Imp Chain was sent to the graveyard." She greedily pulled another card, from the deck this time. "Frightfur Fusion is added to my hand!"

"Why do you do that? Why are you still acting like you're two different people?" Out of everything, this schizophrenic personality of hers confused Alice the most. "Because we are! And not in the weak way, like Cassius and Aaron! We are one in flesh and blood! Me and the Dame!" She clenched her right hand and touched a card in the graveyard with her left. "Anyway. I didn't forget you, Fluffal Wing! I can banish this little guy and another Fluffal from the graveyard, when I control Toy Vendor!" The angel wings and Fluffal Rabbit were removed from the graveyard. "I can draw one card! And if I destroy Toy Vendor too, I can draw another!" Phoebe drew two cards from her deck with Fluffal Wing's effect. In that same chain she added Edge Imp Sabres to her hand, since Toy Vendor could search that card if it was destroyed. "Of course, we are the strongest when we combine.. when we fuse." She chomped her teeth and activated her fusion spells. "I and I will fusion summon with Frightfur Fusion and Frightfur Factory! First, Frightfur Sheep and then Frightfur Sabre-Tooth!"

Frightfur Fusion banished Edge Imp Chain and Fluffal Bear from the graveyard to create the fused chain death-toy, Frightfur Sheep(5/2000/2000). Frightfur Factory then banished the Frightfur Fusion spell to start its own fusion between Frightfur Sheep, Edge Imp Sabres and Fluffal Octo. Frightfur Sabre-Tooth(8/2400/2000) escaped the extra deck once more. It(2800/2000) used its effects to give all Frightfurs 400 attackpoints while resummoning Frightfur Sheep(2400/2000) from the graveyard. "Since you interrupted his dreamworldy meal, I will let him eat your heart out instead!" Phoebe entered the battle phase. "And you can't activate effects while Frigtfur Sheep is attacking, so there is no stopping this direct attack!" The sheep unwound its gears to fire its chains and saws away. "Aaaahhh!" Though Alice ducked underneath the projectiles, one chain grazed her leg.

Alice's LP: 5600

"What a cute scream! I wish I could hear that over and over again! Oh well, one more time will do! Direct attack!" The Sabre-toothed Frightfur ran across the tracks and made a slashing pass at the unfortunate girl. "Eeeh!" She covered her face, but the teeth purposefully missed her. "Hee. Don't worry. You're much too adorable to damage. I want to keep you whole and stuff ya!" Phoebe cackled as she ended her battle phase and then her turn. "I..don't.." Alice couldn't even stand anymore, her leg hurt too much. "What's that? Are you going to cry about it again? Cry how you can't understand?"

Alice's LP: 2800

"I don't want to understand!" She yelled back. "I don't want to know what turns someone... into something like you!" Alice drew a card. "That's right. There's a lot of bad people out there, and I am just one of them. I had to be!" Phoebe glared at her subordinate. Knight reacted immediately with a continuous trap; Sealing Ceremony of Katon. "Nobody gets anything done by being nice!" The Sealing Ceremony banished one fire monster from the graveyard to banish one card from Alice's graveyard as well. "Ah!" Katon banished Shiranui Spiritmaster to remove Nekroz Cycle before she could use its effects. "Also your magic cage wont protect you either." Shiranui Spiritmaster would destroy one other card if it was banished. Since the Ritual Cage protected Ritual monsters, it had to be shattered first anyway. Still, Alice stood up. "I am not scared.. And I am not..going to cry!" Alice activated Moray of Greed, sending two water monsters (Nekroz of Catastor, Dance Princess of the Nekroz) from her hand to the deck and drawing three new cards. "I can discard Nekroz of Unicore to get Nekroz of Brionac back! And I can discard Brionac to get Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz!" She used the two Nekroz effects in a row to prepare her field for.. another ritual. "Nekroz Cycle!" Thanks to the Greed spell, another ritual spell came to her. "Nice things can always happen!"

"I summon Unicore!" By tributing the level 4 Great Sorcerer, Nekroz of Unicore(4/2300/1000) was ritual summoned from her graveyard. The tributed Great Sorcerer also nabbed a Nekroz spellcaster card, Nekroz of Valkyrus, from the deck. "Now your fusion summoned monsters effects are negated!" Unicore took away the powerboosts from Frightfur Sheep(2000/2000) and Sabre-Tooth(2400/2000). "Hmph. You want niceties?" But that was when the Knight activated his other trap. "Huh?" It was Shiranui Style: Swallow's Slash. To stop her ritual monster, the Knight was willing to tribute his Shiranui. Shiranui Samuraisaga gave his lifeforce to his sword, to make one last strike. The Swallow's Slash could destroy two cards at once. "Nekroz of Gungnir!" But Alice wouldn't let her monster die. Nekroz of Gungnir was activated from her hand and discarded to make Unicore immune to destruction. "I'm sorry, mister Knight. I don't know how much this will hurt." Alice apologized in advance, and activated her field spell Ritual Stage. "But I'm going to attack you first." Ritual Stage powered the Nekroz caster(3300/1000) up, as it launched a direct attack at the puppet.

Knight's LP: 4700

 _Ritual Stage, Field Spell  
_ _Ritual monsters you control gain 1000 atk during the batlle phase.  
_ _While you control a ritual monster, your opponent cannot target non-ritual monsters for attacks or with effects._

"You hate me and yet you're going after him? Are you trying to save him? I don't know whether to laugh or cry!" Phoebe sounded like she was doing both at the same time. "You will regret your pity." With a smirk she displayed the Frightfur Fusion card that had returned to her. "A-ah no!" Alice noticed too late that her continuous Factory spell had been Swallows Slash' other target. A destroyed Frightfur Factory placed a banished Frightfur Fusion back in the players hand. "No I.." She made a mistake. She should have taken down one of her Frightfurs while she could. Not that it mattered now. "I..I end my turn." There was nothing left anyway. "That's right. Just let it all happen. Poor helpless child."

The knight Luther leaped into action not a second later. He activated the continuous spell, Shiranui Style Synthesis. As the Knighte controlled no monsters, the spell could send Shiranui Samurai from his hand to the graveyard. Synthesis also returned the banished Spiritmaster to the graveyard with its second effect. Then, to activate Sealing Ceremony of Katon again, the Knight banished Shiranui Swordmaster a second time. "Not even that stays.." Spiritmaster destroyed another card of Alice as it exiled itself into another dimension. Nekroz of Unicore was the exorcised victim. Meanwhile Katon banished the second Nekroz Cycle from the graveyard. "I see it is time for another synchro." Phoebe clapped when the Knight activated the grave-effect of Shiranui Spectralsword. "From the graveyard?" It tuned itself with the spirit of Samuraisaga. The two cards were banished to synchro summon Shiranui Shogunsaga the fiery god of war(8/3000/0). "Oh we're having fun now, arent we?" Two more effects were triggered. Shogunsaga banished Shiranui Samurai from the graveyard to absorb that monsters 1800 attackpoints into his(4800/0)'s swords. Consequently, the effect of a banished Samurai returned a dead Shiranui monster to its masters hand. The Knight targeted Shiranui Solitaire, took it and normal summoned it once more.

And of course, Solitaire used its selfsacrifice power to send itself to the grave. It special summoned Shiranui Smith(4/1000/0), the forger of the clan, from the deck. "If you thought you could survive one turn without your Nekroz. Here is that hope smashed into the ground!" The Knight collected everything he needed, so he declared two direct attacks. "No. No!" Everything Phoebe said was true. Alice had to activate Nekroz of Valkyrus now. "I discard it, and banish my Great Sorcerer of Nekroz!" Nekroz of Valkyrus ended the battle phase, at a minor cost. However, this was the last defense Alice could put up. "No." Her hands were empty. "Hope is a foolish thing to have anyway. Nice things don't happen if you just wish for them. You act like a good kid and look where it got you!" The Knight placed another trap card face-down and passed the turn to the next player. "Now it's all coming to an end. You, your life, your dreams. You won't even know yourself anymore. There is only darkness and the void." The twofaced girl kept taunting Alice. "Stop it!" She did not want to listen. She was making her remember what happened eight years ago. "I am giving you one last chance, Alice! Join us! It is the only way you will ever do good again!"

"Don't listen to her, Alice!"

Eric's LP: 8000

"Eric?!" A heartwarming voice reached the three duelists. "You made it!" It was Eric, her Eric. "Of course I did! Just in time to put an end to her crap. Nobody wants your stories, Phoebe!" He spat her name, that was how much he loathed her. "Two against one.. against Alice? You're even worse than I thought! It's my turn!" He drew his card, delaying Phoebe's next turn. "Oh that's so nice of you to drop in, Eric. I had wanted to see you again, this version of you." Dame greeted him all politely. Eric wasn't buying it. "I already suffered you in my head for weeks. I can see through your act now! That's why I'm not afraid to use this either!" Eric activated Void Imagination. "Eric?" With that spell Eric could fuse his Infernoids. And since she controlled a monster summoned from the extra deck, he could send Void Imagination to his graveyard to fuse Infernoids in his deck. "I fuse Lilith, Nemehoth and four others!" Six Infernoids merged into one, creating the ultimate hell serpent; Infernoid Tierra(11/3400/3600). "Hoho. You went back to fusion monsters after all."

"Eric, I thought.." Alice was stunned. Eric wanted to stop using fusions, didn't he? "I figured, a card is just a card. That's what you said, Alice." He remembered her duel with Zenshin, and he took those words to heart. "Since more than five Infernoids were fused into Tierra, he will send three cards from the top of each deck to the graveyard!" The fused Infernoid shaved three cards from all decks. "Anyway, I still had this in my graveyard." Next, Eric banished Breakthrough Skill to negate the effects of one monster on the field. "I negate Frightfur Sabre-Tooth! It cant be destroyed by card effects when it's made with three fusion materials. But now I can kill it! So I activate Harmonic Waves, to change my monsters level to 4!" Normally Infernoids could not summon themselves if the player controlled more than 8 levels on their field. With the Tierra(4/3400/3600)'s level lowered, Eric could summon whatever Infernoid he wanted. Like the Infernoid Antra(1/0/2000) in his hand, which banished one Infernoid from his graveyard. "Beelzebub can handle your Sheep, the rest will be for Nehemoth!" The demon of the second sin targeted Frightfur Sheep for its effect, pushing it deep down in Phoebe's extra deck.

"Aw. You want revenge then? I get that." Phoebe began to say while her partner in crime activated another trap; Painful Escape. "Oh no!" The trap tributed one monster, Shiranui Smith, to place one with the same level, type and attribute in the Knight's hand. All Shiranui were fire zombies, so the Smith was exchanged for a second Shiranui Solitaire(4/500/0). "Eric, he's gonna.." Then the Knight reactivated Sealing Ceremony of Katon to banish Shiranui Smith from his graveyard, and Infernoid Onuncu from Eric's graveyard. "Ooh. So much for your scariest demon." Phoebe let out another laugh. Thanks to the banished Shiranui Smith, none of the Knight's monsters could be destroyed in battle this turn either. "You love talking, don't you? You should try listening for once. I said I'm not letting you fool me anymore!" Eric revealed his final trap card, Fiend Griefing. "Fiend Grieding moves one of your dead monsters to the deck, to move one of my decked fiends into the grave!" His trap targeted the first Shiranui Solitaire in Knight's graveyard, and a second Infernoid Onuncu in his deck. "!?" Phoebe cringed.

"Looks like you didn't see that coming! Good!" Eric slammed his hands together. "Then it's time to send them all packing! I banish three Infernoids from the grave, to resurrect Infernoid Nehemoth!" He raised his hand above his head and performed the special summon of the mighty hell serpent(10/3000/3000). "Once Nemehoth is summoned, all others will die!" Onuncu spread destructive hellfire across the tracks. Fire spirits or not, even the Shiranui could not withstand such heat. Onuncu killed Antra, Shogunsaga, Frightfur Sabre-Tooth. Tierra would have died too, but Eric banished a spell that Tierra discarded earlier. It was Void Seer, which negated the destruction of one of his Infernoids this turn. "Kgh." Both Phoebe and the Knight were wide open. "Surprised?" Eric could attack either one. "Wait, Eric. I know how you feel about her.. But.. I think you should attack him first." Phoebe's lifepoints would survive the assault. The Knight would not. "..I know. I was going to. You want to save him as much as I do." Eric looked at this man and sighed. He never had it that bad. "Phoebe. Have some of your own medicine!" Tierra and Onuncu blasted the Shiranui duelist from both sides. "Now it's one against two. Or should I say two against two?!"

Knight's LP: 0

...

Uno's LP: 4500 Martel's LP: 8000 Queen's LP: 5000

 _"Not exactly what I hoped for."_ Uno was in a bind. Martel and his Queen were teaming up on him, and his deck was not giving him quick answers. He could not retreat, or he would put Stonewell in harms way. "Pendulum summon!" Uno tried a revival of his Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon. "That will not happen." Sadly, since Martel controlled El Shaddoll Grysta(7/2450/,9150) he could counter this. "I reveal my Shaddoll, and discard one card." The Shaddoll of fire revealed a Shaddoll Hound card and discarded a random spell, to negate the summon of the Rebellion Dragon and destroy it. "And to ensure it stays there." Since it was not properly summoned, the destroyed Odd-Eyes could not use its own recursion effects and it stayed in the graveyard. "Guh." Uno had one last shot, his trap card Pendulum Reborn. "I set a trap card!" With that he could at least revive Odd-Eyes on the next turn. But he didn't even get that chance. The Queen activated her Sealing Ceremony of Suiton trap. "Shoot!" That trap banished one water monster from her hand, Crystron Rosenix, to return Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon to Uno's extra deck face-down. "Then..." Uno switched Performapal Bowwow(5/2300/1000) to defense mode and placed a trap card down. "I guess it's your turn now." Uno did not know how many turns had passed for everyone else. Either way, it was bad news.

"No it is not!" And it was good news.

Adamant's LP: 5400 Iria's LP: 2400

"Adamant, Iria!" The XYZ-duelist and the disciple walked on to the scene. "The others." Martel let out a yawn. "We face each other at last, puppetmaster." Adamant did not give him any kind words either. "We 'helped' your puppets..." Iria said and pointed at Adamants Satellite Cannon Falcon. It carried both the Pawn and Zach on its wings. "Two more lost to me. Just two remain." The puppetmaster almost sounded saddened. A leery grin was still etched into his face however. "Uno, we will assist you. Iria used a third turn. I did not. So I will take it now." Adamant drew a card. "Your tactics are disgusting, puppetmaster. You only strike when you outnumber your enemies. You are a coward who hides behind unwilling servants." Adamant was forced to deal with the Queen first. He activated the effect of Satellite Cannon Falcon(8/3000/3000) by detaching one XYZ-material from the beast. It would drain Crystron Phoenix(3100/2300)'s attackpoints by 800 for each Raidraptor in his graveyard.

"Meaningless words. You do not understand, what we have." Martel placed his hands on Tara's shoulders and made her activate Crystron Impact from her graveyard. "She will protect me, forever." Banishing the Impact trap negated the effect of the Satellite Falcon, who dared to target a Crystron monster. "You cannot call that a bond just because you can make people do what you want!" Iria hissed. "What do you know of bonds, of my Rook?" Martel talked to her like he was accusing her of something. "She knows enough, more than you can!" That got to Uno, so he yelled back. "I know what friendship is. You can't just steal it!" Alice, Eric, Emily even Adamant and the disciples. He considered them all his friends. "We help each other because we want to!" Adamant and Iria coming to save him proved that. "Indeed. And we are together in another way. In this battle royal, we share fields the closer we stand." That was how Martel could use his puppets monsters as fusion materials. "What are you saying?" Martel sighed. "Just this." Adamant looked to his left and right. "I will need your scales, Uno, for a Pendulum summon!"

(To be Continued in Redux 070: The Light at the End)

 **Cards used by Knight  
** Shiranui Swordmaster  
Shiranui Solitaire  
Shiranui Spectralsword  
Shiranui Samurai  
Shiranui Smith

-  
Shiranui Samuraisaga  
Shiranui Shogunsaga

-  
Shiranui Style - Synthesis  
Foolish Burial

-  
Sealing Ceremony of Katon  
Shiranui Style - Swallows Swipe  
Painful Escape

 **New Cards used by Dame Phoebe  
** Fluffal Octo

 **New Cards used by Alice Brandt**  
Moray of Greed

 **New Cards used by Eric Stonewell  
** Fiend Griefing

 **New Cards used by Queen 'Tara'  
** Sealing Ceremony of Suiton


	21. The Light at the End

**Redux 70: The Light at the End**

Adamant's LP: 5400 Iria's LP: 2400 Uno's LP: 4600

Martel's LP: 8000 Queen's LP: 5000

"Raidraptor Wild Vulture, Raidraptor Mimicry Lanius. I pendulum summon these two!" With the scales of Odd-Eyes Unicorn and Xiangke Magician, Adamant could pendulum summon the green armor vulture(6/1600/2000) and the mimicry bird(4/1100/1900) in defense mode. "You cannot overcome me. Even with pendulum summon." As Martel still controlled El Shaddoll Grysta(7/2450/1950), he made an attempt to negate the special summon. "Well he's not dueling alone is he!" But Uno was not gonna let that happen again. "Pendulum Reborn! I special summon a pendulum monster from the extra deck!" He flipped his trap and special summoned Performapal Changeraffe(1/100/500) in defense mode. "Changeraffe chains one monster when she is summoned!" The Giraffe tossed the beaded hoop around its neck over to the Fire Shaddoll. Grysta was bound at the waist, so that its effects and attacks were sealed.

"You have my thanks, Uno." Adamant nodded at his teammate. "Wild Vulture's effect!" Adamant tributed the Vulture, so that it could special summon two Raidraptors from the graveyard whose levels added up to six. "Skull Eagles!" Adamant revived two demonic eagles(3/1000/500), monsters he had used in his previous turns. "Mimicry Lanius!" The other Raidraptor's effect raised the levels of all itself(5/1100/1900) and the Eagles(4/1000/500) by 1. "And Pain Lanius!" Finally he special summoned the tiny three-eyed Raidraptor(1/100/100) by targeting Skull Eagle on the field. It(4/100/100)'s effect copied the level of Skull Eagle, while also inflicting damage to Adamant equal to the targeted monsters defense points. "XYZ-summon! Raidraptor Rise Falcon!" Pain Lanius and the Skull Eagles attached themselves to one XYZ-monster, Adamants great Falcon(1/700/1000). It's attackpoints had gone up by 300 for each Skull Eagle XYZ-material. "I copy the attackpoints of the Queens monster!" Rise Falcon targeted Crystron Phoenix(10/3100/2300), and added the synchro monsters attackpoints to his XYZ-monster(3800/1000). "Rise Falcon, attack all special summoned monsters on the field!"

Adamant's LP: 4900

"Purusue Shaddoll Aion." Before the first hit could land, Martel flipped a trap card. "I send a Shaddoll from my deck, to empower my fused doll." Martel sent a Shaddoll Beast into the graveyard and added 1000 attackpoints to El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis(9/3700/2000). "That is not enough to stop Rise Falcon!" Adamant yelled and his Raidraptor fired its missiles away; three salvos for three monsters. El Shaddoll Grysta, Anoyatyllis and Crystron Phoenix died to the blazing carnage.

Queen's LP: 4300 Martel's LP: 6550

"It was not meant to save water and fire. It was meant for the light. When Anoyatyllis dies, one Shaddoll spell is returned to my hand. When Shaddoll Beast is sent to the graveyard, one card is drawn." Martel drew one card and retrieved El Shaddoll Fusion. "If you can get to that! Satellite Cannon direct attacks!" Adamant charged a laser with his other XYZ-Raidraptor(8/3000/3000). "No." The puppetmaster moved his finger and the Queen stepped up in front of him. "You couldn't!" The possessed girl took the direct attack for Martel. "Damn you." Adamant's attack kept going; she was knocked to the ground by the cannons blasts.

Queen's LP: 1300

"Hey!" Meanwhile Martel jumped into the air on the back of Satellite Cannon Falcon. "What are you doing? Get away from him!" Iria shouted, as he closed in on Zach. "I end my turn!" Adamant said, which caused his Satellite Falcon to come back to him and shake off Martel. It was too late though. "Fusion! Summon!" Martel activated El Shaddoll Fusion, to fuse Shaddoll Hound in his hand with the last monster Zach controlled; Krystal Avatar(4/1800/1800). "You.. can fuse with that too?" Iria was disgusted and angered. Martel took advantage of Zach even after the disciple lost all his lifepoints. "He is mine, even in death. Come, El Shaddoll Construct!" The light-type Krystal Avatar and the shadow hound formed a fusion of light. It was the white-faced purple-clad doll giant(8/2800/2500), El Shaddoll Construct. "That one.." Uno noticed it resembled something, it looked like the girl doll Martel was carrying around in his free arm. He had no idea what was up with that though. "Construct destroys any who were special summoned." The Shaddoll's attack came in the form of a hundred energy strings. "Hmph." They tangled around Rise Falcon and disassembled it feather by feather. Adamant could not retaliate, since Construct's effect destroyed monsters before damage calculation. "You will pay for this, all of this!" Iria swore. "You can try." Martel smiled. "But you will fail."

...

Alice's LP: 2800 Eric's LP: 5550 Dame Phoebe's LP: 7000

"That's so sweet. You're going after me. Me! With a fusion no less! You have as much chance here as you did at he tournament!" Dame Phoebe was alone now, her accomplice was removed from the equation. "Working well so far!" Eric placed a monster down and passed the turn to her. "I made you what you are, I can unmake you." Phoebe immediately activated her spell, Frightfur Fusion. "Yeah? How are you gonna do that when I can stop your fusions?" Eric activated Onuncu(10/3000/3000)'s negation effect. The Infernoid tributed Eric's facedown monster to block Frightfur Fusion and destroy it. "You can only do that once each turn, Eric!" Phoebe tossed the card aside and focused on two others. "Come my little Imps!" She normal summoned Edge Imp Saw(3/500/1000) first. Edge Imp Sabres(3/800/1200) then special summoned itself from her graveyard by sending a random card from her hand to the top of the deck. "Two Edge Imps.. no.. two dark monsters." Alice recognized this setup. "You're not going to.." The same materials were used against Cassius and Ichirou. "Teehee." Phoebe activated another Polymerization.

"FUSION SUMMON! STARVE VENOM FUSION DRAGON!"

"No way!" Darkness mixed with darkness. Polymerization fused Sabres and Saw to create the third of three dragons; the carnivorous fusion dragon Starve Venom(8/2800/2000). "Aahhh.." Up close this twisted perversion of Odd-Eyes was even more terrifying than Alice's imagination had built it up to be. "The dragon that the world forgot. You missed out on its grand comeback. Such a shame." Dame hummed as her poisonous beast unleashed its powers. "He's hungry again.. So he will drain your special summoned monsters attackpoints, Eric!" Starve Venom stabbed Infernoid Tierra(11/3400/3600) with veins shooting from its wings, drinking Tierra's power as if it were blood. "Then he will dine on flesh!" The powered Starve Venom(6200/2000) lashed out with its tail next. The tip transformed into a tooth filled maw and it chomped down on Infernoid Onuncu. "Grgraaaaaahrhgh!" A chunk of his lifepoints were torn away, which translated into a sharp pain that Eric felt in his chest. "Eric!" Alice cried out and rushed to his side. "Heh. I like this guy. He's useless now as a codekeeper, but he'll do splendidly as my new pet." Phoebe placed two traps and ended her turn.

Eric's LP: 2350

"I'm okay." Eric groaned. "It's not that bad, Alice. You can take that dragon.." It was up to her first. "But.." It was just a card, nothing more. Its(2800/2000) power-ups did not even last another turn. However, this card was special, just by appearance alone. "If anything happens. I've got your back." Eric promised. He wouldn't let her get hurt. "I.. okay." Eric did plenty for her already. When he summoned Infernoid Tierra, three cards were discarded from her deck. One of those was Nekroz Kaleidoscope. "I banish Nekroz Kaleidoscope and Nekroz Exa the Enforcer from my graveyard!" Alice used Kaleidoscope's effect from the graveyard to search her deck for a new ritual spell; her third and final Nekroz Cycle. "And because I banished Exa.. I can summon one of my banished Nekroz monsters!" A portal to the other dimension opened, a way out of the banished zone for the Great Sorcerer of Nekroz(4/1500/800). "I'll ritual summon Nekroz of Unicore again!" Alice tributed the Great Sorcerer on her field for Nekroz Cycle. And the recycling ritual spell special summoned the Unicore mage(4/2300/1000) from the graveyard.

"Come get me then! If you're not scared, prove it!" Phoebe goaded her. With Ritual Stage still on the field, her ritual monster would have no problems killing Starve Venom. "..Y-yes!" Unicore gathered ice-cold energy within its staff, and drew even more energy from the field spell. With the battle phase underway, Alice and her Nekroz(3300/1000) began their assault. "Kay! Your head rolls off first! I activate Battle Fusion!" It was shortlived, Dame Phoebe's quickplay spell powered up Starve Venom Fusion Dragon(5100/2000), giving it Unicore's attackpoints. "Aaah!" Alice could not undo her attack order. "Necro Gardna!" Leaving Eric to jump in. "I banish this card from my graveyard to negate an attack!" A dark warrior threw his shield in the path of Unicore's ice blast, and kept it away from the stronger Fusion dragon. "Ha! Tierra discarded a card like that and you didn't use it until now?" Phoebe growled. Necro Gardna could have stopped her attack the previous turn. "No. He did it to help me!" Alice understood Erics reasoning far better than Phoebe did. "That's right! I know Battle Fusion is your favorite trick, Phoebe! I saved my Necro card for something that could be fatal!"

"Tcheheh." But now the Dame did something unexpected. "Heyheyhey! Where are you going?" She hopped on top of her own Venom Dragon. "Hit me if you can!" The dragon snatched the unconscious duelist Luther with its claws and flew up to the top. She stopped near a hole in the ceiling. "You really think I wont try to hit you while you're flying!?" Eric yelled. "I don't like this Eric." Alice placed a card in the spell/trap zone and passed the turn to him. "Me neither. But we can't let her win. You got my back?" He asked. She nodded. "Good. Phoebe, this is the end of the road! Infernoid Tierra attacks Starve Venom Fusion Dragon!" Eric's fusion of hells serpents could cross the distance easily, what with how massive it was. It fired a gargantuan burst of infernal flames once it was close enough to Starve Venom. "Heehahahaa! I knew you would try to use your fusions against me one day, Eric!" couldn't be happier. "TRAP CARD; FINAL FUSION!" Starve Venom launched a countershot, which intercepted the hellfire. Both attacks collided. "Final Fusion!?"

"That's right! A fight between two fusion monsters is negated, and then damage is inflicted equal to their attackpoints!" The demon and the dragon shared a combined 6200 attackpoints. "That damage is for all players!" That was why she put distance between them. To extend the radius of her trap's effect. "What!?" It was now that Uno and the others noticed the light from below, and the duel going on. Phoebe was as close to them as she was to Eric and Alice. "What did she do?" Iria saw venomous light and hellish red mix together and explode outwards. "You are all going to die here! Hehaha!" Only Martel and Phoebe held enough lifepoints to sustain 6200 points of damage. They would be victorious and everyone else would die in one fell swoop. "No I.." Eric stared with wide eyes. He'd doomed them all. "Eric. This is not the end." Somehow, despite that, Alice looked determined. "If we can't win. Then we'll do the next best thing." She stepped back to reveal her own trap, which formed a chain link with Final Fusion. "Unbreakable Spirit!" It powered Tierra(6200/3600) up with the attackpoints from Starve Venom. "But that means!" There were 9000 attackpoints in that Final explosion now. "NO!" Phoebe cringed and screamed. It was too late; the trap resolved. The flames broke out, shaking the foundation of the tunnels.

Alice's LP: 0 Eric's LP: 0 Dame Phoebe's LP: 0

Adamant's LP: 0 Iria's LP: 0 Uno's LP: 0

Martel's LP: 0 Queen's LP: 0

The blast seemingly consumed them all. Yet it was not to be. "Now?" Of all times, this was the moment that Uno's pendulum flared up. "!" For whatever reason, perhaps the presence of another legendary dragon, the crystal created a field around every duelist that lasted until the outbursts finished. And when they did, the duelists weren't in the same spot anymore. They were seemingly further down the tunnel, sounds of rocks caving in could be heard in the distance. "You teleported us out?" Eric couldn't be surprised anymore. "I suppose I did.. Is everyone okay!?"

"Yes." Iria said as soon as she confirmed those that were still with them. The nameless Bishop and Stonewell lied against the walls. The Pawn and Zach rested on the ground. "But what about Phoebe, and Martel?" Uno looked around nervously, worried that he brought them along too. "It appears you only brought those you wanted, or could." Adamant saw no trace of either. "They probably fled the scene. It was their loss as much as ours. Even if they managed to get away from the cave-in, they will not risk another with lesser numbers." With the duel resulting in a tie, neither side could claim victory over the other. "Uhm.. the one we fought is gone too." Alice said. The Knight had still been in Phoebe's clutches when they last saw her. Likewise the Queen Tara was close to Martel. "Damn. I guess Martel is going to make them into his slaves again. Ugh." Uno wished he could have done more; to save more of them. "How can he even do those things? Did the fusion guild teach him, or did he teach it to the fusion guild?" The mysteries kept piling on. "At least, we saved some." Iria stated with a content smile. They had Zach back, that was a good start.

"Oh no!" Alice suddenly shrieked.. "I forgot to tell you!" She shook Eric by his shoulders. "Whoa-whoa! Easy there. Forgot to tell me what?"

"They have your mom.. and my dad! Phoebe, the fusion guild!" She let it all out. "MOM? What! Why!? What did they do to her? If they hurt her!" Eric was frantic. He felt his heart beat ten times its normal speed. "They wanted.. Uno's card. Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon." She revealed as she looked up at Uno. "That's what I heard too. But to see them go this far.." Uno looked at his Pendulum dragon. Was it worth it to keep it, if it put their parents in danger? "Why would they ask for the fourth dragon?" Adamant inquired as he gave both Uno and Iria a stern look. "Because Dom put a fragment of his decryption key into this card as well." Uno replied. "Dom? He never spoke of that with me." The disciple was honestly shocked to hear it. "I guess he wanted one more precaution. He didn't tell anyone." Phoebe probably only found out because the three cards weren't enough by themselves. "But they got away! And now they're going to.." Alice did not want to think of what could happen next. "Uno, we have to do something!" Eric cursed. "I know. But we can't do anything from here, with all those rocks in the way."

"We should get out of here. We lost almost an hour to this." Iria had her eye on the clock, it was almost morning. "Dang. Forgot about that. Well hopefully that teleport shaved off a few minutes. We might make it in time if we rush to the exit." They were still in the same tunnel, so it would be easy to pick up from where they were stopped before. ."...but what about the others? We aren't gonna leave them behind, are we?" They had four people to take care of now, Stonewell, Zach and two of Martels victims. "If they will not slow us down." Iria stressed that point. "I should be capable of carrying them all with a solid vision construct. I have enough energy stored in the dueldisk for another hour. However, forward flight is not advised in these narrow tunnels." He would have taken them all for a Raidraptor ride if he could. "You wont need to carry four."

"Eric? Ehr Other Eric!" Alice flinched. "Stonewell." He corrected her. "That big explosion of yours was enough to keep me awake for the next ten days. What happened, where are the enemies? Why am I not.." His last memory involved him losing a duel. By all rights he should have been turned into one of Martels puppets. "I dropped in and held Martel busy before he could get to you. The battle ended in a draw though, and an explosion separated us." Uno explained it quickly. "Oh. So basically they got away.. But that also means I owe you my life.. Uno." Stonewell felt surprisingly glad to say it. "Don't mention it. I'm happy to still have you around. But like Iria said. We really can't afford a lot of time on standing around. So let's catch up as we go." Uno only did what he felt was the right thing to do anyway. Whether he was Eric or a total stranger. "Agreed. But one day I will pay you back, Uno." The two nodded at each other and Uno turned to Eric and Alice. "Whatever happened to Phoebe. I'm sure her guild wont do anything bad to your family. Not if they want my card that much." If they ever got that card though, all bets were off. "Yeah." Eric sighed. "Let's just get out of this damn darkness."

After all that chaos, the rest of the journey through the tunnels went by in what felt like minutes. Nothing happened on the way to the surface, no more attacks and no more surprises. None of their passengers woke up either, much to Iria's disappointment. "This should be it." At the end was another blockade, one that Adamant managed to pry open with the help of his monsters. Sunlight peered through the cracks as the cement blocks fell. The exit brought them outside at the bottom of a dam. "Wow.." Control City was before them, in all its splendor. "And I thought Skyheart looked rad." Multiple bridges crossed the lake that surrounded the city, which looked like a futuristic tropical resort from the outer ring. Cubical homes were stacked on top of each other, forming living complexes. Some were even below sea level. Parks, trees and rainhouses covered every angle. Beyond lied the more heavily industrialized district, with clean soundless factories and stations. At the center were the towers, the domain of Millennium. "I guess. That is where we have to go to complain about stuff." Uno saw the largest of these tower, the same one that stood in front of every horizon. "Gonna be a long walk."

"TARGETS ACQUIRED"

"No!" Stonewell jerked his head towards the sky. A dozen templars hovered above them. "Them? How?" According to his radar, the area was supposed to be clear. "They knew we were coming?" Iria checked her clock, it wasn't 7 AM yet. Flake was still supposed to be locked behind his barrier. "Something went wrong.. I.." Stonewell had no explanation, or a next course of action. "Uno. What should we do?" Alice stood close by him as the Templars swarmed nearer and nearer. "We.."

"You want to know?" One of the Templars replied, using a voice that wasn't its own. "!" Iria flinched. It was her voice. The Templar projected an image of the Inquisitor. "I figured you were using some kind of detection system to evade capture so effectively. So I just had a dozen standing by on sleepmode. It was that simple." She placed her fingers against each other. "Now you can surrender your disks, or duel all my Templars. The choice is yours."

(To be Continued in Redux 069: Hell and Heaven on Earth)

 **New Cards used by Adamant  
** Raidraptor - Wild Vulture

 **New Cards used by Martel  
** Shaddoll Hound  
Shaddoll Beast

-  
El Shaddoll Construct

-  
Puruse Shaddoll Aion

 **New Cards used by Eric Stonewell  
** Necro Gardna

 **New Cards used by Dame Phoebe  
** Final Fusion

 **New Cards used by Alice Brandt  
** Unbreakable Spirit


	22. Hell and Heaven on Earth

**Redux 69:** **Hell and Heaven on Earth**

"Damn you!" The mere sight of the Inquisitor pulled Stonewell into a state of fury and he tossed an EMP grenade at the Templars without hesitation. "What?! How?" The shockwaves released by the detonated grenade showed no effect on the floating machines. "Come now. Did you expect me to leave such a weakness alone? I analyzed the grenade your friend used the day before and adjusted the barriers of my Templars. It was child's play. I am sure you're happy to know that your friend' sacrifice was all for nothing. You see _I_ learn from my mistakes. I do not need to deal with you directly. Certainly not when some of you are eager to interfere with those pastiche dueldisks of yours." The holographic Inquisitor directed her steely gaze towards Alice. "Eh?" The girl flinched, but Silver did not go deeper into that subject.

"Inquisitor." Adamant stepped forward. "How did you find us?" He thought they had covered everything; Stonewells Igknight deck, the duelist at the station. How could she have found them? "Oh I didn't have you on record yet either. Adamant is it? Well, you can thank an anonymous tip for that. Your resistance network is not as pure as you probably thought it was. I have got to admit. You little rats always got away with it. Those toys of yours had my Templars fooled, for a while. And I never considered the possibility of anyone using that old underground network to get into the city. Then again..." She narrowed her eyes. "I have no idea why _you_ considered it. "What did you think was going to happen upon arrival; that the Union would roll out the red carpet for you? Or were still planning on using my image to get passed the first perimeter? I didn't think so. Now I will ask again. Surrender.. or fight."

"Guys. Hold your fire." Uno saw Adamant and Stonewell ready to take up arms with these Templars, Alice and Eric paralyzed with indecision and Iria already discouraged by the hopelessness of the situation. "Let me try and talk to her." That was all he could come up with. "Silver! We came here to meet the girl from the fair! What happened with you and her?" Whatever that girl did back then, it didn't keep the Inquisitor out of commission long enough. "You are in no position to ask me questions, trespasser. Look around you!" Silver seemed oddly agitated that Uno would dare raise that subject. "Why don't you look? I told you we came from another dimension and we have proof!" Uno pointed at the two Erics. "That is my friend, Eric Stonewell. And that is his counterpart from this world, your world!" She might have been able to discredit a copy of herself, but she had to notice something was up now. "Another make-up job? You would go through that much effort to support your inane narrative?" Clearly Uno was under-estimating her distrustful nature. "Then scan their DNA or something! I know you can do that!"

"Oh I will. Once I have converted all of you to data, you and those friends you are carrying with you." The Inquisitor flatly stated. "No!" Alice shrieked. "You don't have to go that far!" Uno shouted. "No. But I have every right too. You are in violation of a dozen transgressions altogether... And I _want_ to." Silver smirked. "You in particular should already have been 'carded'."

"Iria!" The actual Iria was tired of listening to her deranged reflection. "What do you want?" The Inquisitor sighed. "I want you to listen to this!" Since the last time, Iria had given her past some thought. There had to be a memory in there that she could use against herself. A story that nobody else would know about. She found one. "When you were a child.. six years old or so, you went with your class on a schooltrip to the zoo. But you got lost, somehow. You were all alone, surrounded by adults. You were scared. But there was one nice man who helped you, took you to the tourist shop and warned one of the teachers that you were found." Iria could only hope that this event took place in her timeline as well. It happened 14 years ago, maybe the two worlds were still relatively the same back then. If she grew up in the same school, she should have experienced the same mandated schooltrip and experience. "You..could have gotten that information elsewhere." The Inquisitor's slowed response revealed how surprised she was to hear this Iria say all that. "Maybe. But I know what you felt. Because I felt it too. It was the first time you ever felt completely helpless, wasn't it?" The Inquisitor's eyes widened. "... How can you know this?"

"Because I am you."

"... Even if I assume that to be true." The Inquisitor was reeling, but not entirely convinced nor resigned. "You have still sinned against the Union. In fact if your entire story is true, then your very presence is a crime!" Inevitably she fell back on the law, on what she knew was true. "It was you who threatened us first! Your Union planned to invade our world! And your world has now been invaded by ours! There were people attacking us in that very network we came out of! _They're_ the threat!" Adamant yelled. "If anyone else is hiding in those tunnels, we will find them and capture them too. But I have heard of no invasion plans. Probably because they are not physically possible!" If she _had_ heard, she probably would have been more receptive to their words. "That doesn't matter anymore. Both worlds have a bigger problem! That's why we're here! We need to find someone who can fix it all! If you want to take us in, do it! But at least let us talk to someone in charge! The people who started Millennium, or that girl that you apparently already know!" Either one would do. The creators of Millennium had to be involved with timetravel if they were the ones who 'invented' this new unified empire. And that girl had powers like the Zodiac travelers, she might even be a timetraveler for all Uno knew.

"The ones in charge? They don't even let me see them without the proper preparations. What makes you think that you can get an invite? No. I've heard enough." The woman tapped the side of her eyepatch, and all the Templars moved into active duel mode. "You will come with me. Then we shall see what should be done about you and your 'information'." Each templar drew five cards and started their turn, setting their individual lifepoints at 8000. "If you still want to fight, let me show you how that is going to end." Four of the drones placed Majespecters in their pendulum zones. Four more began setting Igknight pendulums and destroying them one after the other to fill their extra deck. The last quartet used a pendulum archetype the gang hadn't seen in a duel yet; mechanical water-attribute dinosaurs called Dinomists. Eventually each Templar pendulum summoned everything they had with their scales; Ten Dinomists, Ten Majespecters and Twelve Igknights. They couldn't possibly beat them all.

Templar's LP: 8000

"THERE YOU ARE!" However the odds evened out _just_ a little. "Wait.. That voice?!" A seventh duelist jumped down from the top of the dam. "It's that Calendar Dragon guy!" Eric recognized his red hair and scarred face the closer he got to the water. It was August, one of the four timetravelers. "He's falling!" Alice cried out, thinking he was going to crash into the ground.

August's LP: 8000

"Behold the power of the enraged heavens! Synchro Summon! My soul, Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend!" What happened instead was the synchronization of three monsters in mid-flight and the creation of August's scarred demon dragon(8/3000/2500). "Whoa!" The red duelist grabbed the neck of the horned dragon and blasted back upwards right as they neared the water. **"UNKNOWN DUELDISK SYSTEM DETECTED. IDENTITY UNKNOWN."** The templars scanned their opponent as he hovered in their mists. "Who are you?" The Inquisitor demanded an answer. "The one who is going to put an end to the madness! I activate the power of my Scarlight Dragon!" August skipped the formalities and moved straight to the carnage. "All monsters on the field are destroyed, and each duelist takes 500 points of damage for each loss!" Scarlight prepared over thirty bombs of hellfire. "All of them will be damaged at the same time?" Silver gasped. Even if she were to discount the Majespecters, who could not be destroyed by card effects, her Templars would still lose 22 monsters. "Disappear!" The dragon rained its inferno down on the machines, wasting their pendulums and inflicting 11000 effect damage to all them.

Templar's LP: 0

The flames were so severe that not a single drone could escape in one piece. Some turned to slag and ash in the sky, others blew up and tumbled down into the lake. "How can.." Silver's last line was cut off as the drone casting her hologram exploded and crashed right before Stonewell's feet. "He.. took care of a Templar dozen, in one turn, by himself? How could he do that?" He didn't know this duelist, but apparently the others did. "He's one of the timetravelers I told you about, August. But.. I know about as much as you do when it comes to why and how." Uno guessed they were about to get the why and how as August dismissed his dragon and landed on the floor. "I found you, Uno." He growled. "Do you have any idea of what I have been through these past few days?"

"Not.. exactly.. or loosely. Or at all." They days probably had not been kind on him, going by the anger on the travelers face. "Where are the others?" August was alone, Iria noticed. She felt better about their chances against him, so she did have her dueldisk prepared this time. "I cannot tell you, because of him!" August pointed his fist at Uno. "We were separated after that last battle. You and December built up so much energy with your pendulums, that it broke out and struck us all. While you and your friends got to stick together, we were scattered across either time or space. I was on my own, trapped in this other timeline without January's powers of illusion, without January's warping, without December's future sight. I couldn't go where or when I wanted. All I have is my mark." He clenched his left wrist with his other hand, revealing the burning dragon tattoo. "But as long as I do, I can survive anything. I waited for a sign, and I got one several times. Three times I sensed a pendulum's light in the distance, and it led me to this place.. this city. I wanted to find my comrades. Instead I find _you_."

"And you are going to help me finish this." August claimed and grabbed Uno's arm. "I'm doing what now?" In a second his pendulum lit up like a fire. "You see it, do you not? You have the power to take other pendulum powers. If January is not here, then you will have take me where I need to be instead!" The pendulum on his wristband was glowing too. "What? I can't control it just like that!" Uno protested, but August wasn't letting go. "Stop it! You're hurting him!" Alice yelled. "You? You are still with him too? Convenient! Do not think I have forgotten that you caused just as many problems as Tempus did! Maybe.." August let go off Uno and walked towards Alice. "Leave her out of this!" Uno quickly stopped him. "I will do what you want! But I don't even know where you want to go!" That was enough to change Uno's mind. "To the source of all this, the top of that tower. Haven't you felt it? Can't you sense it just by looking at it!?" August turned his eyes upwards and Uno did the same. "I.." From down here one could not even see the very top. "I..can.." But somehow Uno could imagine it. As if he'd seen something like it before, up close. "Yes. Yes!" Whatever that emotion was, it made the pendulum go haywire and shoot beams of light everywhere. It was happening. "Wait! I can't leave..."

The surrounding area transformed in the blink of an eye. The light of the pendulum made the dam and the water disappear, and replaced it all with a lavish looking court. The floors and walls were covered with intricate patterns and various paintings. Transparent pillars with golden patterns ran along the walls, while people were seated in between on large chairs. There was no table, only a trinity of thrones at the end of the room sitting in the filtered sunlight that streamed in through a large window on the north wall. This was where the Union gathered to discuss matters. "..Eric and..." This was the scene that Uno intruded on with August. "Perfect.", Alice "Wha.." and Stonewell. "Did I just.. Is this the court!?"

"Ergh, guys. Sorry." In the heat of the moment, Uno focused only on them. He left Adamant, Iria and his Eric behind. But a larger problem reared its heads. "What the devil is this?" The ministers screamed, as they got out of their seats on by one. "Security!" They cried out, and several Templar drones and palace guards stormed into the chamber. "Feh. This is why you should have left them behind. Another mess I have to clean up." August grunted as he walked right into the guards line of sight. "What is he.." The others did as he suggested and hid behind the pillars. But Stonewell didn't think August could do anything. "Hey!" The poor guards didn't even have the time to respond. August summoned Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend with a simple gesture and blew all the Templars to smithereens. Then with his own fists and lightning fast speed, he knocked out the guards while dodging their bullets. "This guy is unstoppable!" Stonewell was astonished that August could fight so well too. "This feels bad, Uno." Alice really didn't want to be here, with all of this going down. "Me neither. I don't even know what is going on."

"He attacked the Templars through the forcefields? Solid Vision isn't allowed within the tower!" Panic and fear took possession of the ministers. "Who sent him? What does he want? What does it matter? Run!" They bolted, racing past August to get out of the throne room. August did not stop any of them. He did not sense what he desired in any of them. "..." The one he wanted was the only person who remained calm in all of this, the last to stay. "Good day to you Civilian. That was a Marvelous Entrance." The man sat in one three thrones at the end of the room on the left side. "There you are." This guy, with his medium-long black curls, short-shaved beard and elegant nobleman's clothes; this was the one that held August's interest. "Indeed I am. And you are There. Now I know who I am. Who are You, and who am I to You?" The man inquired as he slowly walked down the steps that led to the thrones. "I am one of the few who survived. If you are who I think you are, you know what that means! Are you the one who created this global empire?"

"If we're Off the Record. I can Admit that I, Marco Amadeus Nisell, am of the Millennium founding Family!" The man proudly confessed. When he got this answer, August activated his dueldisk. "Then you know why I have come for you!" He said with a roar as he started drawing cards. "You're challenging him? Does he even know how to.." Stonewell found out that that was a pointless question before he even finished it. Marco flexed his arm and made a disk pop out of his ruffled sleeve. "HNo wonder this Union is so obsessed with dueling." He said with a groan. "Uh.. whose side are we on?" Alice was not sure about Marco, but she definitely did not like August. "I.. can't be sure." On one hand, the Millennium Union was pretty shady. On the other hand, Uno felt vaguely comfortable in this area.

August's LP: 8000 Marco's LP: 8000

"Ah, I have heard of You. You were supposed to be Traveling with more than One, were You not?" Marco raised an eyebrow at the redhaired man. "I only need myself!" August proclaimed. "Well Well, I certainly do Hope that you have got the Power to back up your Words, my dragonic Friend." Marco placed one monster face-down and ended the turn. "I shall show you power!" August drew his card and summoned his first monster, the wind-tuner Debris Dragon(4/1000/2000). "I activate the permanent spell of Dracocension! Each turn, one dragon is sacrificed for a wyrm of the same level! I call the Mystery Shell Dragon!" The spell made Debris Dragon descend into the graveyard, while an deepblue seaslug wyrm(4/2000/0) ascended to the field. "A monster special summoned with this effect will send anything it destroys back to the deck!" The blue mystery dragon swam through the air and delivered an electric shock to Marco's facedown monster. "Oof, what a Pity." Marco sent his card, the dogscratcher demon Graff of the Burning Abyss(3/1000/500) to the deck. "I had wanted to make a Bigger spectactle with my Malebranches."

"What are those?" That demon did not look familiar to Alice and Stonewell, it was not a standard card in either timeline. "Graff is one of the Burning Abyssals, a series of fiends that referenced the story of Dante's Inferno. If August destroyed it and sent it to the graveyard, it would have special summoned another Burning Abyss fiend from Marco's deck" Yet Uno could explain its effect with ease. "Very Good, my nameless Observer! You know it well." The one who explained the card, was Uno. Which drew a questioning look from Stonewell. "How did you.." Uno did not even realize what he'd done. "That proves it. You two are connected somehow." August growled and placed a trap card down. Then he ended his turn. "Proves it? I don't... What is this all about? Do you believe this guy is connected to Tempus and the pendulums?" Uno yelled. "Pendulum?" Marco drew his eyes towards the crystal around Uno's throat. "I see. You and Your Friend are the Same. No wonder you reached this Room so easily. Well, you came All this way. I should give You a duel to Remember."

"It is Time; Rubic and Scarm." The Malebranches of the Burning Abyss could be special summoned by one of their effects, as long as their owner controlled no spells or traps. So Marco special summoned Rubic of the Burning Abyss, the red-faced terror(3/100/2100), from his hand. After that he normal summoned the eyeless devil with nails like claws; Scarm of the Burning Abyss. "A tuner?" Alice saw the text on Rubic. "EXactly!" Marco made a pumping moption with his fist. "Synchro summon! Virgil, Rock Star of the Burning Abyss!" Virgil the redhaired poet(6/2500/1000) in white bards clothes appeared from a circle of flames. Mister August. Let me Welcome you to your future!"

(To be Continued in Redux 068: In the Middle of the Journey of our Life)

 **New Cards used by August  
** Mystery Shell Dragon

-  
Dracocension

 **Cards used by Marco Amadeus Nisell  
** Graff, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss  
Rubic, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss  
Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss

-  
Virgil, Rock Star of the Burning Abyss


	23. In the Middle of the Journey of Our Life

**Redux 68: In the Middle of the Journey of our Life**

August's LP: 8000 Marco's LP: 8000

The master of the Union started his offense, and revealed his taste for the white cards. "Virgil shall Play you a Tune." Marco Amadeus Nisell discarded a card from his hand to activate the effect of his synchro monster; Virgil(6/2500/1000). "He may return any one Card to its Master." Virgil strummed his flaming guitar to hypnotize August's Mystery Shell Dragon(4/2000/0). The seaslug wyrm followed the music which led him off the field and straight into August's deck. "And as my demonic Poet discarded the Burning Abyss Malebranche Cir, I may special Summon one Other from the depths of Hell. But do not be Alarmed. It will only Appear in Defense mode." Like most Malebranches, Cir could activate its effect when it was sent to the graveyard. The wild hog demon revived Malebranche Rubic, the red-faced devil and tuner monster(3/100/2100). "Just one Attack "This turn, only Virgil can Grant you his Attention!" Marco moved to the battle phase and Virgil shot a blast of fire from his guitar towards August. "Ragh!" He took the very realistic fire head-on.

August's LP: 5500

"What? How is this guy using real monsters too?" Stonewell was surprised, he'd overheard the ministers crying about solid vision inhibitors in this place. "This is more than solid vision." Uno recalled that this was how August always fought, and Marco was simply playing along. "But that looked like it hurt." Alice didn't understand why August would make the monsters real, if he was the one taking damage. "As my resting partner Scarm has Died this turn, it may add one Burning Abyss Monster to my Hand during my turn's End." Marco placed a trap card down and before his turn really ended, he used Scarm's effect to grab Calcab the Burning Abyss Malebranche from his deck.

"That will also be the last time you hurt me, founder!" August declared as he began his counter-attack. "For my Tuner, I activate One for One!" He played a spell which special summoned a level 1 monster from his deck at the cost of a card in his hand. Pulao the Wind of the Yangzing was discarded and Chiwen the Light of the Yangzing(1/0/0) was summoned. "For my Non-tuner, I banish Debris Dragon and Pulao from my graveyard!" The souls of a dragon and wyrm were required to special summon XYZ-Raypierce. The skeletal wyrm(4/1700/200) wrapped in flames appeared from August's deck. "Deliver the Decree of the Gods, and Receive the Cries of the Mortals. Synchro Summon! Origin of the Yang Zing - Wangtianhou!" The Raypiercer and Chiwen tuner came together and created a level 5 synchro monster; Wangtianhou the sparkling-gold guardian wyrm(5/0/2800). "When XYZ-Raypierce leaves the field, 500 points of damage are inflicted to my opponent!" The sword that the Raypiercer usually carried in its talons stayed behind during the synchronization process, and it launched itself right at into Marco.

Marco's LP: 7500

"Oof." The lord winced as the blade grazed him. "Your Power certainly Exceeds those of our Templars. Yet you seem to Value some Cards more than others." The pain did not bother him for long. Marco dusted off his coat and laughed it off. "Don't lecture me on the cards, Marco Amadeus! The lesser creatures are just the instruments for my greater powers. They form the beginning!" August added another card from his deck to his hand, Bi'an the Earth of the Yangzing. "When Wangtianhou is summoned, he must give me one Yang Zing card!" Next, as August hadn't normal summoned yet, he summoned the rocky Yangzing Bi'an(3/1600/0) to his field. "And.. Wangtianhou, is a tuner as well!" August revealed right as he tuned Wangtianhou the Origin with the Earth of Bi'an. "He's bringing it out!" Alice and Uno knew of one level 8 synchro monster that August liked. "Synchro Summon! My Soul! Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend!" The great demon(8/3000/2500) was reborn. "No matter what you put up in front of me, the Red Dragon will burn it all! Scarlight, destroy his monsters!" The dragon fired two infernal meteors towards Virgil and Rubic. Both turned to ash, and each burned away 500 more lifepoints.

Marco's LP: 6500

Meanwhile, Wangtianhou activated its final power. "When The Origin of the Yang Zing leaves the field, he has to summon a Yang Zing from my deck!" August special summoned Taotie the Darkness of the Yang Zing(5/2200/0) "This is the ending! Scarlight, Taotie; attack the enemy directly!" The red dragon coated his fist in hellfire and punched Amadeus right in the chest. "Guh." After that he took a swipe from the Darkness wyrm's claws. "Feel it! Feel the anger seeded by all lost worlds!" August placed another trap card down and passed the turn to his opponent. "Geez. He's almost dead already." Stonewell gasped. "That's what he does. He lets the opponent build up his field, then he takes it down in one go." Uno did not think Marco could come back from this, but part of him wished that this duel would go on for a little longer.

Marco's LP: 1300

"The Red Dragon..." Marco calmly stood up. "I Never thought I would get to See it. You have my Gratitude." Before he used his drawphase he drew a card of his own. Virgil the Rockstar allowed an extra draw when it was destroyed. "You know about the dragon card? How?" Marco's lack of surprise astounded Uno. This man could recognize something noone else could. "Isn't it clear? He is a timetraveler, he works for Tempus or he is Tempus! That is how he was able to start this empire!" August spat out the accusation. "Him?" Stonewell still couldn't believe it. Marco looked too young to be ruling anything. Wasn't he just a figurehead? "Timetravel? You jest. I merely Inherited what belonged to the greatest Traveler in all existence. He who found the Legends that people Forgot and the Inventions of Lost civilization, his legacy Was what we Used to create Millennium. And I can say It is not Easy to Govern a planet. I must also Thank you for Adding some Action to a Dull day, Mister August..."

Marco activated a spell card, Foolish Burial, to send Graff the Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, from his deck to his graveyard. "As Graff is sent to the graveyard, I may Summon one Burning Abyss Monster from my deck!" The dying Graff special summoned a second Cir Malebranche(3/1600/1200) instantly. "And he will Be joined with Draghig, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss!" Marco normal summoned the black dragon from hell(3/1100/900). "Perhaps a Poem will Suit you more?" Draghig and Cir were stacked on top of each other, to begin the overlayal. "XYZ-Summon! Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss!" After Virgil there was now the blue-haired poet who described his own journey into hell; Dante the Traveler(3/1000/2500). "He has XYZ-monsters too? What's next, fusion monsters?" Stonewell half expected that from someone at the top of the dueling world. "It's just like Silver. But also.." This reminded Alice of another duelist that she had faced herself; December.

"Choose from One to Three. Send that Many to their Death. Each Loss is my Gain." The number three was chosen, meaning Dante would discard the top three cards from Marco's deck and gain 500 attackpoints for each. He detached the Cir XYZ-material to activate this effect. "Forgive me. I am still Practicing my Haikus." One of the cards Dante discarded was a Burning Abyss Malebranche, Farfa the sleek demon with long white hair. Its effect would banish one card from the field for one turn. "I will be clearer on This. Your Darkness, I want it Gone." The choice was surprisingly not the Red Dragon, but Taotie. The cause could be attributed to Cir's effect, which was activated when Dante detached it. "And Virgil's Melody will Play once more!" Cir special summoned the Synchro of the Burning Abyss; Virgil. The Rockstar immediately discarded the last monster, Calcab the Malebranche of the Burning Abyss. "Scarlight!" August cried out as Virgils effect made the demon dragon fly back to the extra deck. "And when Calcab is sent to the Grave. Well, you will See." The effect of Calcab returned one set spell or trap to their controllers hand. August's second set card was pushed back into his hand. "The Field is Mine to do with! Virgil, Dante, Direct Attack!"

"I swore to you, Marco Amadeus, that you would not cause more pain! I do not lie!" In spite of everything, one trap remained. "King's Consonance! When I am targeted for a direct attack, I may banish a tuner and nontuner monsters from my graveyard, if their levels do not exceed eight!" August activated his trap to remove Bi'an and Wangtianhou. "Then I shall summon a synchro monster whose level matches that of the banished materials! Return from the Heavens, Scarlight Red Dragon!" Thanks to Kings Consonance the dragon escaped the extra deck and crashed into the throne room in attack position. "Your monsters can only use their effects once each turn!" Neither Virgil nor Dante could defeat this dragon from hell. "Excellent! You could have Died, yet this Time the Choice favored you." Marco flipped his own trap, The Traveler and the Burning Abyss. "So I special summon as many Burning Abyss monsters as were sent to the Graveyard this Turn, in attack position!" With this trap he gave life back to the demons Cir(3/1600/1200), Farfa(3/1000/1900) and Graff(3/1000/1500).

"I could see your killing intent, Marco Amadeus." Had August not acted, those monsters would definitely have finished him off. "Good! Then Maybe this will not Surprise you Either!" Marco revealed the last card in his hand; a fusion spell. "Terminus of the Burning Abyss! I fuse three Burning Abyss demons, to create my Fusion monster!" Dante, Graff and Farfa were selected for the infernal fusion. Terminus sent them to the grave and created a new Dante, one dressed like a holy priest(9/2800/2500). "Dante, Pilgrim of the Burning Abyss! He sends one Burning Abyss card to my grave to draw one new card! Furthermore, when Dante the Traveler dies, I may return one Burning Abyss creature to my Hand. Everything I need is within my Reach!" The XYZ-Dante placed Scarm in Marco's hands. Just so the Fusion-Dante could discard it and draw a new card for his master. "Aha!" Marco placed the drawn card face-down in the spell/trap zone. "The Turn will be yours yours again, Dragon Rider August!" During the endphase, Marco used Scarm's effect to add an Alich Malebranche monster from his deck to his hand. "So Do your Worst!"

"No matter how close you are to Death, you continue to mock me. But I will have my Vengeance!" August drew his card. At this time, Taotie the Darkness of the Yanzging escaped Farfa's banishment and returned to the field. "Scarlight!" August attempted to activate his dragons effect once again. Blowing up the other five monsters on the field would deal more than enough damage to silence Marco. "Dante!" Unfortunately, the fusion Pilgrim could use his power during August's turn as well. "I discard Alich the Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, to Draw again!" This time the draw was of less importance. The effect of the discarded Alich Malebranche mattered, as that negated the effect of another monster on the field. "You dare?" The mighty red dragon lost its powers of destruction to a mere harlequin demon. "Do I dare to Take what is Needed to Win? Why Yes! That is Hardly a Sin, mister August! I respect your Power, I respect your Monster. But I cannot have either Threaten what We worked for."

"What you worked for? All of that is a sin! Everything you built rests on corpses upon corpses. Just because they are not there anymore, does not mean they are forgotten!" With every word August's anger grew, and the mark on his body glowed right through his vest. "The Red Dragon and I have gone through greater duelists than you! I shall make you suffer my full power!" He activated a spell from his hand. "Burning Element! I destroy one monster on the field and special summon a monster from my deck with a different element!" Taotie the Darkness was targeted and it perished as soon as a second Chiwen the Light(1/0/0) appeared on the field. "As a Yangzing monster of mine has died, Chiwen will special summon itself from my graveyard!" The first Chiwen returned to the field. "Two Tuners? Double Tuning?" Marco seemingly coined the phrase which was about to become reality. However this was no new technique. The two Chiwens tuned with Scarlight Red Dragon. "Cross the Creator above with the Destruction Below! Grab the Dragons soul and Scream! Synchro Summon! Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend!"

 _Burning Element, Normal Spell_  
 _Target 1 monster you control; special summon 1 monster with the same type, but different Attribute from your deck or graveyard,_  
 _with its effects negated, then destroy the target. You can only activate 1 'Burning Element' each turn._

"It can get even bigger!?" Stonewell cried out. The Red dragon(10/3500/3000) was wounded no more. Its scars and cast were thrown away, its broken horn restored, and it gained even more horns and wings. "Tyrant Red Dragon may destroy all cards on the field besides itself!" August claimed as he was planning to do just that. "Glorious! Wondrous! To see your Dragon restored to its Prime form! Truly you Honor the Memory of your World. However.." Marco was all cheers and furor, even as he activated his trap card. "With regret I have to Inform you that their days of Infamy can never Return!" The boisterous duelist revealed the Fiendish Chain. "WHAT!?" August's burning tyrant was chained down, its effects were negated and its attacks sealed. "You cannot do this!" He cursed and protested. How could it all go wrong so suddenly? "I Believe our current Situation says something else, my enraged Comrade!" The lord laughed heartily as his opponent was left with nothing to use. "I am the heir of the signers! The master of the legendary dragons! I never lose!" August placed a trap card down and ended his turn.

"He never lost a duel.." Alice said softly while she recalled Adamant's story about the destined duelist. And for a moment she wondered if that destiny belonged to the Zodiac travelers. That moment didn't last long. "Virgil!" Marco simply discarded another card from his hand and had his Rockstar monster return Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend to August's extra deck. It was as if it had never been summoned in the first place. "There have been a great Deal of Legendary Dragons throughout Time, mister August. Like everything Else, they are not what They were. And you, unlike your Card, cannot Return to the Past." The discarded card was a second Graff Malebranche. Its effect returned August's trap to his hand. That was his last hope. "I cannot Lose.." August's voice had lost all its intensity. He was lying to himself and he knew it. "You gave a Good fight. Nobody will say Otherwise. Take Pride in that." Marco clapped his hands and made his three monsters attack. Dante, Virgil and the Cir Malebranche destroyed what remained of August's lifepoints.

August's LP: 0

"Gakh!" The flames and holy magic of the Pilgrim and Rockstar sent August flying all the way to the back of the throne room. His cards and dueldisk were scattered across the floor. "Kgh. Rgh.. Goddammit. This isn't.." He spent a good minute coughing and hacking his insults out. Meanwhile Marco calmly strolled over to his side and picked up his cards. "You will not be needing these." He claimed the Red Dragon card for himself. "! You bastard! Go to hell!" The marked man lifted himself up and threw a punch towards Amadeus. "Good Grief." August was easily deflected. "I didn't want to Do this. But if you will not come Quietly, your Power has to Removed." He grabbed Augusts arm. "!" And just like that he plucked the pendulum crystal from his wristbands, both of them. No matter how brightly they shone and struggled, the gems lost all their luster in his hands. "Impossible!" Even the mark on Augusts' body faded away. His strength was leaving him. "It's not over. Others will come for me. They will finish you in my stead." He spat out his last words of defiance. "I am sure They will." Marco clapped his hands again. Templars floated into the room. "!?" To the shock of everyone else they turned August into a card right before their eyes. The red duelist was silenced.

"Let's see. I suppose it is Your Turn now?" He turned a smiling face to the other three in the throne room. "What are you going to do to him?" Alice asked as she stayed behind the pillar and looked. "Why I'd guess the Inquisition will analyze him first. And then He will be on his Merry way to one of Our lovely Prisons." Marco jovially handed the 'card' to a group of enforcers that marched into the room to take care of the guards August beat up before. "And.. you're going to let us duel, instead of just arresting us? I mean, don't get me wrong. I have a lot of things I would like to do to you. But you're not exactly matching the picture I had in my head." Stonewell never thought he would ever get to meet the head of Millennium to begin with. "A Duel is a Duel, to refuse it would Dishonor me and the Union. Allthough I must say, I have not yet Figured out how you Two fit into the Overall scheme." He pointed at Stonewell and Alice briefly. "But You, you have a Pendulum too." Marco's interests were definitely homing in on Uno. "Look. We got off on the wrong foot, okay. This was not our idea; that guy you just dueled is not exactly a friend of ours." He began to say. "Are you Saying he Dragged you into this?" Marco inquired. "Uh.." Uno's voice trailed off. "A little, maybe."

"Lord Nisell! Our Templars caught more of them running down the control bridge. Inquisitor Silver claims they are insurgents. What should we do with them?" One guard received more bad news on his transmitter. "Oh no." Alice figured that the 'them' would be referring to Eric, Iria and Adamant. "Oh No? More of your Friends? It souunds to me like You made it into the City on your own. My shady Friend, it does not look Good for you." Marco sighed.

"he is not one of them, amadeus." There was someone else with them now. Only this person did not come through the door. As far as anyone could tell, she had been inside all along. "It's you." That person was the girl with the purple mantle, the one who told Uno to come here. "Anastasia? What do you Mean?" Marco turned to greet her, acting a little more flustered than usual. "You know her?" Uno stepped out from behind the pillar, dropping his dueldisk. "Yes. She is my Sister; Winnifred Anastasia Nisell." He introduced her. "Anastasia? Amadeus.." By now hearing these names made Uno feel something he hadn't felt before. Not since his memory loss. "Who are you? What are you?" He knew these two, somehow. "we are the same, Uno." She spoke his name, which drew a gasp from Marco. "Uno?!" He acted like he was seeing a ghost. "You know UNO?" Alice wondered if they were talking about Doms contact. But in fact. "we know him, christopher fortuno nisell. he is our brother, our older brother."

(To be Continued in Redux 067: A Modern Renaisscance)

 **New Cards used by August**  
Wangtianhou, Origin of the Yang Zing  
Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend

-  
One for One  
 _Burning Element_

-  
King Consonance

 **New Cards used by Marco Amadeus Nisell**  
Cir, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss  
Draghig, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss  
Farfa, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss  
Calcab, Malebrance of the Burning Abyss  
Alich, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss

-  
Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss  
Dante, Pilgrim of the Burning Abyss

-  
Foolish Burial  
Terminus of the Burning Abyss

-  
The Traveler and the Burning Abyss  
Fiendish Chain


	24. A Modern Renaissance

**Redux 67: A Modern Renaissance**

"Bigger.. brother?" His true family, his true name, his true home. It was all right here. "That's great isn't it? But wait. Isn't he.. " Yet it did not feel real. For one thing, and this was obvious to anyone including Alice, the little brother looked older than Uno. "Your mystification matches My own. I can see the Resemblance, sister. And he owns a Pendulum crystal. Yet He does not Know we are. How can you be Sure that he is Christopher?" And the older brother was skeptical too. The only one without a doubt in her mind was the girl with the soft voice. "it is him, but altered. somehow he was forced to regress in body and mind." She walked right up into Uno's face again. "tell me your memories, please,.. how far back do they go?" She believed him, and he wanted to believe her. This was everything he wanted. "I.. I only have four weeks.. at most. I woke up in a graveyard, in a town not far from here. But it was in a completely different world. Alice..found me." He looked at her and back at Anastasia. Her eyes were lighting up. "four weeks.. that is how long you have been missing."

"Then it _is_ You?" Marco gasped. "I guess? I honestly can't remember anything, just a few flashes here and there. But I know that this world is my home." Of that alone he was certain. "Well I cannot Claim to understand How this transpired. Yet that does not make this Meeting any less Wondrous! To have my brother back in the Fold, It calls for Celebration!" The man happily embraced Uno on the back. "Oh. Thank you. I wish I could return the feeling." Uno carried too many questions to let any joy sink in. It was as if he was living a dream right now. "Me too." Stonewell had reservations of his own. "You were one of them all along?" He did not forget where he was, or who he was dealing with. "But Uno didn't know!" Alice came to his defense. "No, he has a point. I've been thinking about that too. I want some answers, not just for me but for my friends. My new friends." The connection between him, them and the Millennium Union definitely needed some clearing up. "But of course! Let's See to it that Friends get reunited!"

...

Miles below the throne room, Iria, Eric and Adamant got about as far as they could be expected to go, with three unconscious passengers slowing them down. At the control bridge, where Anastasia told them to go, they met a dozen elite duelist guards instead. The trio was prepared to fight their way out. They were _not_ prepared for medical vans that drove down the road, and the first aid response team that stormed out. "What is this? Where are you taking them?" Iria couldn't stop the responders from grabbing Zach, along with Martels Pawn and Bishop, and placing them on stretchers. "We got orders to take them to the tower infirmary." One of them replied. "Orders? From who?"

Once the medics were gone, a bright flash struck the bridge like an electric bolt, catching the three duelists by surprise. "Those Orders would be ours." The light brought down Marco, Anastasia, Uno and the others, much like how Uno's pendulum took them up earlier. "Wha..how.. who..where?" The energy burst left the trio slightly confounded. "Uno? Why are you with that man? Who is he? Tell him to bring Zach back!" She hissed at him and at Marco. "My fiery lady, you shouldn't Worry. Our Health services are some of the Finest in Existence. Also." Marco pointed a finger at her. "You look Familiar." The lord then noticed the second Stonewell standing before him, and his eyes moved from Eric to Stonewell and back. "Two of them. You've come Across some Interesting friends, Christopher." He chuckled. "one comes from the other world." Anastasia approached Eric. "Uhhhhh.." He was too weirded out to say anything back, even when she shoved two crystals into his hand. "have this. it will keep two of you safe in this world."

"Ahem. I believe an explanation is in order. Who is.. Christopher?" Adamant coughed. "That..would be me. Let me just introduce these two. He's Marco Amadeus and she's Winnifred Anastasia; they're my brother and sister." There was no easy way to say this. "Pardon?" Iria winced. "Brother!? Sister?!" Adamant and Eric had about the same shocked reaction. "But you look nothing alike!" Marco had a tan complexion himself, while Anastasia looked as pale as ice. "We are not related by Blood, we were Adopted. It is a long story." The older brother clarified. "Wha? But.. how.. What happened? Didn't August take you to the top? Are these... his crystals?" Eric recognized the kind of jewels he had in his hand, and Uno's pendulum was still hanging around his neck. It felt like he was missing several long stories. "The Red dragon rider was Strong, but Powerless before my Burning Abyss. I took the Liberty of Defanging him before He could bite again." The lord stated with a self-indulgent grin on his face. "And this Teleport talent my Brother has. He is not the Only one with a Pendulum in this world. Let me Show you."

"Hm?!" Marco had to put his demonstration on hold, because a certain counterpart chose this to arrive at this moment with her very loud hover jet. Coincidentally that was the very same person Anastasia used her teleportation trick on just the day before. "Milord, Milady!" Silver stormed out of the jet as soon as it touched the bridge. "I came as quickly as I could. I am glad to see that no damage has been done. My deepest apologies, the transgressors dismantled the Templar units. I.." It took her a while to notice that the 'transgressors' were not detained. "What is.. the meaning of this?" They were being treated like guests instead. "only one was hostile. my brother saw to him. the others are friends.. and family." Anastasia told the Inquisitor, who did not gain much insight from that answer. "Friends? Family! Milady, I warned you. That man is trying to deceive you. They're all criminals; one of them took down a Templar unit!"

"Oh kids will be kids, my righteous Inquisitor. We have Thousands of Templars. Please, I know you Mean well. But when my Sister says it is so; It is So. She did not mean to disrupt your Duties, she just likes to Leave the palace from Time to time." Marco let out a playful laugh. "I should have read your Reports. I had no idea You encountered your Double." He patted both her and Iria on the back. "Hey." The disciple grumbled. The Inquisitor pulled away from them. "I do not understand. Are you endorsing their story?!" With her masters current attitude, and the 'anecdotal evidence' Iria passed on this morning; Silver's own beliefs were growing very fragile. "It is true! They hail from the Other dimension. That was where our Brother was sent to." Marco said. Making Silver go through the same process as he had done earlier. "You.. are _Lord_ ChristopherFortuno?" She recognized him even less. "How did this happen? Who banished you?" If these were all facts, there had to be a guilty party. "Wish I could tell you. But I don't remember anything before it, just that I had a dueldisk with me when it happened. If someone did this to me on purpose, it could be anyone."

"That's Enough Talk. We have a Palace to Show off! My Inquisitor, I also heard About the collapse of the Tunnels. I leave you with the Task of finding any Invaders trapped inside." Marco winked at his sister. "Wait. Milord. We need to.." Everyone except the Inquisitor left the scene in another bright last. "Tch. That man.. cannot be the Lord." She gnashed her teeth.

"Why does nobody give a heads-up when they do stuff like that!?" Eric yelled. Now everyone was back inside the tower, or rather a lush tropical park that circled the tower. "i am sorry. i will tell you next time." Anastasia apologized. "You can really go anywhere you want with that?" Alice saw a crystal in Anastasia's hand glow, that was what made her teleport. "our pendulums let us go whatever we can see or have seen befpre. this is the royal garden. i like it here." The lady said as she put the crystal back in her headband. "You can control a pendulum? It is no wonder you people took over this world so easily." Rather than being bemused, Adamant derided the power on display. "I want to know how you came into possession of that crystal. I think I speak for all of us on this matter." The XYZ-leader looked at the others. "You do not speak for me, but I agree at least." Stonewell nodded. "Yes. How did we? Anastasia, should we Tell them everything?" For once Marco was less generous with his bluster. "our union does not exist in their time, they can already guess at the truth." His sisters words reinvigorated him. "Oh that is Good. I do not Excel at lying or keeping Secrets."

"Christopher! You are Our brother. You were the First to be adopted. I was Second, and my sister Third. I do not Know how it is for Us in the Other time. Is it Possible that we do not Exist there." Marco began to sigh. "Don't Exist? How come?" Uno always figured he was not a native to the non-millennium world. But he didn't really understand why. "we are special. we were saved by the man who took us in. we lived in poor conditions, and we might have died were it not for him. he was a wealthy man, but he had no family.. only material possessions... that is why he wanted us. just the.. three of us." Anastasia's voice cracked a little, shifting to a more depressed pitch. "Who was that man? What happened to my real parents?" Uno was happy to have one family and he didn't want to pry. But there was so much he didn't know yet. "we do not know. we were very young and He never told us what happened to them.. he just wanted us to inherit his work, his power.. his pendulums. because he had no one else to pass it on to." From the way she spoke, it sounded like 'father' was dead already. "Wait. This man.. is he the one who started Millennium? Was his name Tempus?"

"Tempus? Ah, Their nickname for him." Marco started his walk through the garden path. The others followed. "Yes. Yes that Should be him. But to Us he's Only known as mister Nisell. He used Everything he gathered to Unite the world; and then to Help it Mature into a Better society. Into this new Millennium." The lord raised his hands to the sky and breathed out. "And.. did he also invent that horrible technique that 'cards' people?" Stonewell brought Marco's mood down to earth. "Oh. He did Create the Method. The Ministry decided to use it as a Weapon to keep the Peace. But it was Intended for Preservation of Life at first, not Incarceration." The lord claimed. "You mean, the Monument? The thing people think will give them immortality?" Eric now asked, with Flake's rants fresh in his mind. "That is what some Call it. It is Immortality, in a Way. Memories, thought patterns, we can store all of That in something as simple As a card or a Machine. Alas, Father never got to Use it on Himself." The brother spoke with a heavy and humble tone. "Not? You mean He's dead?" Uno shuddered. "Then we still don't know when the timeline split happened, or how to fix it."

"Maybe it _did_ happen because of me?" Alice suggested somberly. "because of you? why would that be?" Anastasia took a sudden interest in her. "Uh.. I.. I'm not... I shouldn't have said anything." She moaned and looked away. "Alice. It's not your fault. It can't be, this Millennium business caused the split." Uno was confident in that. Alice had only been part of the timeline for eight years, this Union was far older than that. "Excuse me, Brother. But what is the Problem?" Marco inquired. "It's just.. there are more timelines than the ones we know about. August came from one. Alice.. from another." Uno needed to say it, he needed proof. Alice said nothing, she stared at the ground. "Tempus is the same. He must be. Did he ever tell you how he got his inventions? These teleporters, the drones, everything; where does it all come from? It's not his wealth, that all came from the same source! He took it from whatever future he left behind, and used it to build a kingdom in the new present. This whole timeline only exists so he could hide from the ones who were chasing him. But.. that puts both worlds at risk!"

"risk?" Anastasia visibly trembled. "According to a.. former.. friend of ours, your worlds scientists found the other dimension and concluded one could destroy the other within the decade. You didn't you hear about this?" Uno would've expected Millennium to be on top of all of this. "When we reached the Right Age, Father told us where he Came and those pursuing him Came from; from another Time and Place. Of course I Laughed at his Story then, Fool that I was. The Things our Father could do and Create, I should have Known that these were not Stories.. So yes we Knew of all the other Timelines. But we did not know of the Dangers this current Parallel world poses. Curious." Marco rubbed his chin. "I have a different story. According to our sources, armies from your world were planning to invade ours. Do you claim ignorance on this matter as well?" Adamant sharply laid down his question. "we have heard of no such plans. we have no wars to fight." Anastasia swore. "You see, our Position is like that of a President or Prime Minister. We have final Say in most Affairs. But some of them Escape us. We cannot rule a whole World as just Two people, even with the Technology we have. But I can Promise you, we will Look into this. I want to help the Friends of my brother in any Way that is Possible."

"Any way that is possible?" Stonewell saw his chance. "Then you can release Tory, the girl that your Inquisitor 'carded' the previous day!" He wanted nothing else at the moment. "Tory? What has She done to turn up in Silver's crosshairs?" Marco wondered. "The same thing I did, defend ourselves! You took over our country and captured innocents in the name of peace! Or is that done without your consent too?" Stonewell was not going to downplay his own actions for this guy. "I trust Silver and I trust the Templar program. However I am also Sure you and your friend only did What you thought was Best. She is still Young, yes? I might be able to Secure her early release from the Monument. What Else?" He waited for more requests. "We are looking for people, persons of interest that our enemies are after. One of them is Dom, he was forced to this world and we do not know where he is now. The other is Emily Brandt." Iria raised two. "My sister? Why her?" Alice freaked out. "Because of Cassius. He wanted her mind to synchronize with her counterpart in this world, remember? It should be imperative that we find her before he and his allies do." The Circle, Cassius' club of mindsynched duelists; they had to be a part of this world too. "Y-yeah. I forgot.. Thank you."

"Yes yes. That should be Simple. We can track Any registered Individual. We will find Emily Brandt. And we can also Search for this Dom. Do you have a picture of him?" The brother asked Iria. "Uhm. I can describe him to you." Master Doms face was not recorded anywhere at all, which was a minor hindrance. "Works for me. It might Take a while Regardless." Marco looked over his sisters shoulders. "And I am afraid I am out of Time." A band of impatient ministers crossed into the garden. "I have to Go. Run the world. Anastasia will keep you Company. You are Free to take whatever you wish in our Palace. Eat our food, use our Beds, take from our Wardrobes. You look like you could use New clothes." Even he could see that the gang had been wearing the same outfits for three nights in a row. "I prefer to stay as I am." Adamant wouldn't discard his guild's uniform for anything. "If you wish. We can Replicate your current Clothes just as easily!" Marco clapped his hands. "But that is It for me. I will pass your Requests on to our Intelligence Network and hopefully I can see you all at Dinner! Have a Good Day!"

With the more vocal tourguide gone, the group was left with a lot of freedom and no idea where to go next. While most discussed their next move; Alice was drawn by the spectacle of the garden. _"I've never seen any of these plants.."_ It felt like someone had planted a seed here from every corner of the world. One tree in particular caught her eye. _"Strange... it looks like.."_ It was a big old tree, with roots far above the ground. _"It's just a coincidence."_ Her train of thought was interrupted at that point anyway. "Anastasia, can you tell us what Uno.. uhm.. Christopher was like?" As Eric grew bored of the details. "Eric! You can't just ask that." Alice felt that was getting too personal. "I was just curious." Eric countered. "I'm okay with it, Alice. I was about to ask the same thing." All this factual information did nothing for Uno. Perhaps he would gain back his memories through personal aspects.

"what was my brother like?" Anastasia tilted her head and started to smile. "he was a nice man, a gentle and clever man. i missed him. something had to be wrong, he would not leave without saying anything. i am happy to have you back.. but i wish you could be happy too." She raised her hand, briefly. "I suppose.. that sounds like me. But what else? Did I make any friends or enemies? Did I get out much? Did I go to school, did I have a pet? Did.. did my father like me?" Uno asked for more answers than he realized he even wanted until this very second. "i can show you, i could tell you; but it wouldn't be the same. you are special, like me. you _have_ to remember." Her hand moved to his dueldisk. "i finally saw you when you dueled inquisitor silver. i saw my brother. that is what you liked to do, that is what we can all do better than anyone else." As she spoke, Uno looked at his cards. "You mean.. you're a duelist too?" It apparently ran in the family. "Hey. Maybe she can help you by dueling you! Just like we did when I first met you!" Alice yelled out her new idea. "What? Oh! Yeah! Anastasia! What do you say to a game? Just you and me; brother and sister?"

"a duel? i would be happy. I can teach you why the cards were so important to us."

(To be Continued in Redux 066: I'll Miss you Most)


	25. I'll Miss you Most

**Redux 66: I'll Miss You Most**

Before now, the duelists had to make do with what little time and space they had. Now, inside this the palace, they had too much of it. Not everyone adapted well to the situation. "Gah!" No matter where Stonewell went, he did not find comfort. There were guards everywhere in this tower. "How can he stay here? In a place like this?!" Inevitably he crossed paths with someone he actually knew and decided to vent. "We did not get much rest, Stonewell. It makes sense to recover lost energy." It was Adamant, filling his own time by exploring every floor one by one. If secrets were hidden here, he would find them. "But his mother is in danger!" Stonewell referred to his other half. Eric was not far from here, taking a nap in a suite reserved just for him. "And right now he can do nothing about that. The people who can are hard at work. I understand your worry. Though he is not your family, he is a part of you." Adamant wouldn't offer any excuses, just insight. "He is nothing like me!" Stonewell protested. "He started like you. The only difference is choice, the ones you made and the ones made for you. You can choose to fight the world, or you can fight for it. It is up to you." Adamant smirked and walked off. "Hey! What is that supposed to mean!" Stonewell yelled. _"Riddling bastard."_ He grumbled to himself as he walked the other direction.

...

"Hello!" Alice shouted as she entered the hospital room. "I do not think they will wake up if you yell at them." Inside was Iria, watching over the three 'puppets' that Martel lost. They all lied in separate beds, unconscious still. "Oh. Are they okay?" Alice asked as she hovered over Bishop's face. "Do not get so close." The disciple grumbled. "But yes, they are physically fine. Their minds are another matter." According to the doctors, they were all in a coma. "Oh. I'm so sorry. I was out there having fun, while you stayed here." The girl felt embarrassed. "Don't be. This is my choice." Iria knew there was a lot you could do out there, she only needed to look at Alice. "I see you got a new set of clothes." The girl was wearing an elaborate blue dress now. "Oh..yeah.. they can make anything here, even outfits from duel cards! I wanted one that looked like that Northwemko lady. She was one of my favorites when I was younger. Just had to make the sleeves and skirt longer and get rid of the feathers and chains and oh.." Alice caught herself talking too much again. "Sorry. What about you, ms Silver?" She noticed her suit was new, but not different. "Right now I want to remain myself." That included keeping her appearance as Dreamworld's disciple. She merely used the machines to replicate her current uniform. "So Zach will see a nice face when he wakes up, right?" Alice smiled.

"Don't you have somewhere to go to?" Iria pointed out. "OH! I nearly forgot! Thanks! I gotta go then! Hope you don't mind!" She waved goodbye and ran straight out the room. "...To be that innocent again." The disciple sighed.

...

The time was sunset, an hour before Marco's grand diner. "Any reason you chose this place?" The scene was a large hall inside the tower, with windows that gave a clear view of the city below. Uno was here. "you liked to come here a lot, to look at the cities. i thought it would help." His adopted sister was there too, because she was going to duel him. "Well, I am ready when you are." Uno was using the energy-blade disk he bought at the academy. "what happened to your old device?" The dueldisk she wielded was the same her brother carried with him when he first arrived in the other timeline; simple yet elegant. "I had to dismantle it. Sorry about that." Uno said. Though he felt like he was forgetting something. "I will let you start, Anastasia. Or did I use your first name more, Winnifred?" He drew five cards. "only amadeus calls me Winnifred. only he calls you Christopher too. you liked my nickname for you more, uno." She claimed and drew five cards as well. "I see. Thats a relief.." Uno didn't want everyone to start calling him Chris or Fortuno all of the sudden.

"You can do it, Uno! You can win! And ehr.. get your memories back!" The only one with the time to watch the duel was a now fully rested Eric, everyone else was busy with something. But one audience member was more than enough. "Duel!"

Anastasia's LP: 8000 Uno's LP: 8000

"i need you, kozmo tincan." Anastasia summoned what looked like a literal walking kettlepot(1/0/0) in attack position. And that was all she did. "when this turn ends, i reveal three Kozmo and choose one, for some of my life." During her endphase, 500 lifepoints were paid to activate Kozmo Tincan 's effect. "choose, brother." She selected three monster cards from her deck; Kozmo Dark Eclipser, Kozmo Dark Destroyer and Kozmo Forerunner. "Hmm. I choose Forerunner." He went with the card that had the least attackpoints. "Kozmos? What are those based on?" Eric thought the names sounded familiar, like they came from a certain famous book. But he was sure he'd never seen a duelist use Kozmo cards before. "from two of my favorite stories, given to me by my father. do you remember them, Uno?" She claimed Kozmo Forerunner and passed the turn back to him. "no.. I.." But Uno could not even recognize the source material, much less the cards. "oh."

Anastasia's LP: 7500

"Sorry!" At that point Alice barged in. "I tried to get here faster, but its so big in here!" She was clearly late. "We're cool, Alice. You didn't miss much! Nice dress by the way!" Uno gave her his complements, which made her face turn red. "Oh. ahahaha.. thanks." She grinned and rubbed her neck. "...it is your turn, brother." Anastasia coughed softly. "Right. Right! Gotta focus!" Uno drew his sixth card. "Anastasia. Maybe you can recognize these cards for me, I've used them for as long as I can remember!" Uno activated Pendulum Call, discarding one card to claim two Pendulum Magicians from his deck. "I set the scales, Timegazer and Stargazer Magician!" The red chronomancer and white astromancer appeared in the red and blue pendulum zones. "Now that's a classic!" Eric cheered. Those were the same pendulums Uno used during his first duel with him. "the magicians. of course i know them, brother. father gave those to you." Anastasia revealed. "He did?" Uno didn't expect such a quick answer. "pendulum summon was one of his talents. he wanted you to inherit that."

 _"These things.. are Tempus' monsters huh."_ Uno suddenly felt less comfortable with them. "Well what about this? I activate Sky Iris!" Uno used a field spell and opened a rift in time and space. "I can destroy one card to add an Odd-Eyes card to my hand!" He destroyed Stargazer Magician, sending it to the extra deck, and added his trusted Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. "I set the new scale, Odd-Eyes!" Now the dragon (scale 4) paired up with Timegazer (scale 8). Uno could special summon three monsters now. "And here are my Performapals! Sleight Hand Magician in attack mode and Kaleidoscorp in defense mode!" Uno pendulum summoned the winged wizard jester(7/2500/2000) and the prism-tailed scorpion(6/100/2300) from his hand. At the same time he summoned Stargazer Magician(5/1200/2400) from the extra deck. "the performapals were always yours. you always liked to duel with cards that were.. lighthearted." She said, and smiled a little. "Heh. Well, I like it when a duel doesn't get too serious." Uno was about to use his monsters effect, but she went first.

"by banishing itself, Kozmo Tincan may summon a higherleveled kozmo from my hand. i need you to defend for me, Kozmoll Wicked Witch." The Tincan vanished into a puff of smoke. And a cackling witch(5/1900/300) in black hood and robes came flying out with a double-sided light sword. "That's their technique?" Eric didn't usually see monsters that could tag out so quickly. "amadeus prefers extra deck summons. i prefer what i have in my normal deck." She went on to say while Uno continued his turn. "Okay... I discard Performapal Plus Turtle to activate Sleight Hand Magician's power and destroy your monster!" The mage spun his staff around until magic exploded out of the crystal tip and raced towards the Kozmoll witch. "then i will give up more of my life to her. she cannot die this turn if i use her power." Anastasia paid 1000 lifepoints to activate the Wicked effect. Wicked Witch jumped over the magical beam and dodged it. "Ah. No point in attacking then.."

Anastasia's LP: 6500

"Anyway. That covers the Performapals and Magicians." Uno activated the Pendulum Dragons searching effect, tributing the card from the pendulum zone to add a pendulum monster with 1500 attackpoints or less to his hand. "But what about Odd-Eyes?" He added Performapal Partnaga. "odd-eyes. i do not know that story well. father never told us much. but that dragon.. was a trophy of his own adventure. that is what he said." That was all she had to say here. "Excuse me.. miss Nisell? Do you always have to pay to use your monsters effects? Wont you run out?" Alice had another concern, as a thousand LP was not exactly a low cost. "it wouldn't be so bad. and it isn't. kozmoll wickedwitch can also remove itself for a higherleveled kozmo. the turn is not over yet." Anastasia used Uno's endphase to activate the other quick effect of her monster. "i need forerunner now." Kozmoll Wickedwitch banished itself, to special summon Kozmo Forerunner(7/2800/1400), the massive spaceship with four engine wings. "during my standby phase, i recover 1000 lifepoints if Forerunner is on my field." Anastasia drew her card now and let the machine heal her. "Oh." Alice got it now.

Anastasia's LP: 7500.

"so... you did not forget how to pendulum summon." Anastasia seemed glad that Uno at least had some memories left. "Not at first, it took a few duels to get it back. And I don't know how to wake my pendulum crystal up either." Uno admitted. "so that is why you want to duel. then i will not hold back. i will use you, kozmo farmgirl." The next monster, a red-braided Farmgirl(3/1500/1500), looked rather futuristic for her name. Then again so did the rest of Anastasia's monsters. "my kozmos will attack the magicians." Kozmo Forerunner fired a space torpedo from its bow, which impacted with Sleight Hand Magician and destroyed it. The Farmgirl shot down Stargazer Magician with her lasergun. "when the farmgirl hurts another player, she can add a kozmo from my deck to my hand. i choose kozmo dark destroyer." Anastasia had to forfeit another 500 lifepoints to activate this effect. Meanwhile Uno wished he hadn't summoned Stargazer in attack position. He could have avoided battle damage that way.

Uno's LP: 7400 Anastasia's LP: 7000

"there is another effect, naturally. farmgirl can banish herself too." By making the girl disappear, she could special summon a level 4 or higher Kozmo from her hand. And she just happened to have one. "the room is yours, Dark Destroyer." Another spaceship(8/3000/1800) entered, bigger, sleeker and foreboding than the Forerunner. "Of course. She can summon during her battle phase too! Man, that one is clearly evil." Eric liked this ships design more. The effect was nastier too. "when he is summoned, someone has to die." Dark Destroyed targeted Performapal Kaleidoscorp, and annihilated it with a series of red energy beams. "my next attack is all for you, brother." Dark Destroyer fired one more laser right at Uno. "Guh.." He expected a physical hit, but the laser just went through him. "Weren't you gonna go all out?" He knew someone like her could bypass the solid vision dampeners in this palace, with 'real' monster attacks. "even then.. i could never hurt you, uno." she placed a trap card on her field. "it's your turn now."

Uno's LP: 4400

"Very well! We did everything separately, time for combos!" Uno placed Performapal Partnaga in the empty pendulum zone and destroyed it with Sky Iris. The field spell gave him Performapal Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix. As it was an Odd-eyes card, Timegazer could reclaim his 8th scale when Uno placed the red flame phoenix (scale 3) on the right pendulum zone. "Pendulum summon!" Uno took every monster he could and summoned them; Performapal Secondonkey(4/1000/2000), Partnaga(5/500/2100) and Kaleidoscorp in defense mode; Stargazer Magician and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon(7/2500/2000) in attack mode. "Odd-Eyes has has been with me all the way! And he and his pals have plenty of tricks in the bag! Secondonkey!" With Secondonkey summoned from his hand, Uno could add a new Performapal to his hand; Performapal Friendonkey. "Partnaga!" Partnaga's power sharing ability gave one monster 300 attackpoints for each Performapal card on the field. The snake stretched out from the Light Phoenix to the scorpion and added four boosts to Odd-Eyes(3700/2000). "Kaleidoscorp!" The scorpion then hit the dragon with its prism rays, creating colored clones which could attack all of Anastasia's special summoned monsters. "Gogogo, Odd-Eyes!" The empowered dragon attacked and shot the Kozmo Destroyer down from the sky. As usual its battle damage against another monster was doubled.

Anastasia's LP: 6200

"when a kozmo ship is destroyed, it can banish itself to summon a kozmo of a lower level." Anastasia activated Dark Destroyer's dying effect to special summon a second Kozmoll Wicked Witch(5/1900/500) in defense position. "So its a cycle between the passenger and the vessel eh?" Uno figured her next step would be to use the Witch's effect, but it was still worth attacking. "Attack number two!" So he sent one cloned dragon after the witch. "i give up my life again." At least he made Anastasia pay the cost. The witch danced around the charging dragon, whose teeth missed her entirely. That only left the Forerunner to deal with it. "And three!" The third clone spewed fireballs at the other ship up above. "i do not believe, you need to be told what this monster can do." Anastasia countered... with Honest's effect. "Awk!" As the angel was discarded, the light-type Kozmo Forerunner gained power that equaled its attackers current attackpoints. Forerunner(6200/1400) deflected the flames with a barrier shield and fired its torpedos down to kill Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. "Gah, I didn't expect the big guns." Honest was such a common trap, yet she got her with it. "Uh, end turn."

Anastasia's LP: 5200 Uno's LP: 1600

"you have gotten softer. the old you would have been more careful." Anastasia drew a card, and Kozmo Forerunner returned 1000 of her lifepoints. "i need to keep pushing." In her turn, Anastasia activated a field spell of her own. The field projectors a sci-fi city in the background, covering all the windows with towering skyscrapers. "kozmotown. i must relinquish even more life to return lost kozmos from the banished zone. i lose 100 points for each level on the retrieved card." By adding Kozmo Farmgirl for instance, 300 lifepoints were deducted. "Uh oh." Uno could tell where this was going too. "farmgirl." She normal summoned the redhead with the lasergun and moved towards the battle phase. "time often repeats itself." Kozmo Forerunner bombarded and destroyed Performapal Partnaga. Farmgirl blasted and killed Stargazer for the second time. Anastasia paid 500 lifepoints to let the Farmgirl add a second Kozmo Dark Destroyer to her hand. She banished the Farmgirl to special summon that monster from her hand. "and i want you to repeat your past. you will not escape this situation until you do." Dark Destroyer immediately blew up Performapal Kaleidoscorp with its effect, and Performapal Secondonkey with an attack. Kozmoll Wicked Witch was the last one to strike, and Uno was out of monsters now.

Anastasia's LP: 5400 Uno's LP: 1300

"Not so fast!" Uno shouted as he snatched both pendulum cards from his dueldisk. "When a direct attack is sent my way, Light Phoenix can destroy the other pendulum, to special summon itself from my pendulum zone!" The pendulum swung to the left and shattered Timegazer Magician. Then it swung back to the Phoenix and manifested the odd-eyed fire bird(5/2000/1000) as a monster in attack position. "ah. you let it get close there." Anastasia pulled Wickedwitch back. It couldn't fight against the stronger Performapal. "He does that a lot. He always lets us think that he's gonna lose and then he comes back right away." Alice said. It was a lot more nerve-wrecking then she would have liked. "I like a bit of showmanship in my duels. Or was I less dramatic in the past?" Uno wondered aloud. "somewhat. that trait was there already. but that is not the part of a duelist that i recognized in you when you dueled the inquisitor" The sister noted. She placed a trap card down and ended her turn. "What was it then?" He asked and drew his next card. "your cards, your deck. it has become more than its beginning."

"You mean.. the cards I made?" Uno looked at his hand. He realized where he had to go next. "Cards like.." He used Sky Iris' effect; destroying Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix to add an Odd-Eyes spell card to his hand. "Odd-Eyes Fusion! When my opponent has two monsters and I have none, I can fuse two Odd-Eyes monsters in my extra deck to fusion summon a monster!" Uno took the face-up Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and the face-down Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon. "By fusing an Odd-Eyes with a Pendulum monster! I can make Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon!" The fused dragon(8/2500/3000) of the wind and stars emerged from the fusion portal. "He can return one attack-position monster on the field to the deck!" Odd-Eyes Vortex targeted Kozmo Forerunner and swept it away with a powerful tornado. "yes. those are the cards. you made it with your own power. the power we all have."

"My own power? Well, I can't say I got everything that way." Rebellion and Vortex Dragon were definitely not manmade, but other cards were printed for him. "Performapal Friendonkey!" Uno normal summoned the grinning mule(3/1600/600), whose effect allowed him to special summon a Performapal from his graveyard. "I choose Plus Turtle!" The donkey revived a nearsighted geriatric turtle(4/100/1800). "He can raise the level of one of two monsters by 1!" Plus Turtle struck the back of Friendonkey with its four-holed stamp. The Performer(4/1600/600) acquired just the right level. "I will XYZ-summon!" The two Performapals overlayed. "Dark Rebellion XYZ-Dragon!" And the dark XYZ counterpart(4/2500/2000) to Odd-Eyes regained his form. "ah, another dragon from the legend." His sister vaguely recognized it. "Yeah. Dom made this for me. It's not the original, just a copy printed with UNO...'s... "

 _"What.. the.. hell?"_ Uno remembered what he forgot. "Anastasia.. How old am I supposed to be, right now?" He needed an answer, urgently. "29." She replied. "Dude. That's like twice as old." Eric gasped. _"Then.."_ Uno didn't want to know this just to satisfy his curiosity. _"I could be old enough."_ This was something he should have thought about right away, but he got swept away by his own relief to question it. He was calling her Uno, UNO. He did not just borrow the name, it was part of his middle name: Fortuno! _"Am I.. the same Uno as Dom's UNO? Am I the first duelist who wrote the books about duel monsters fifteen years ago, just so that the other timeline would have the cards too? But that's not possible. I met UNO. Who was he!?"_

(To be Continued in Redux 065: That Name no Longer has Meaning)

 **New Cards used by Christropher 'Uno' Nisell  
** Performapal Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix  
Performapal Plus Turtle

-  
Odd-Eyes Fusion

 **Cards used by Winnifred Anastasia Nisell  
** Kozmo Tincan  
Kozmoll Wickedwitch  
Kozmo Forerunner  
Kozmo Farmgirl  
Kozmo Dark Destroyer  
Honest

-  
Kozmotown


	26. That Name no Longer has Meaning

**Redux 65: That Name no Longer has Meaning**

Anastasia's LP: 4800 Uno's LP: 1300

"brother. is something troubling you?" The duel was stalling, one side was lost in his own thoughts. "I.. uh.. Anastasia. Did I ever do work, that involved the other timeline?" There was a mystery in front of Uno that he himself could never solve. "work? i wouldn't know. you kept things to yourself. father had tasks for you, which we were not to worry about." Neither could his sister. _"Then it could be that I did do it. That I acted as UNO? But if that's the case.. who took over when I went missing?"_ He and Zach met UNO, a faceless voice-modded hologram of him. Who was that? Was there a second Uno? "Uno. Is there something wrong?" Alice and Eric were growing concerned too now. "No, nothing. Just some plain old curiosity." He laughed it off. For now he would have to keep playing. Anastasia was not aware of this, but she could help him in other ways. "Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon can absorb half the attackpoints of another monster!" Uno detached two materials from his XYZ-Dragon(4/2500/2000), who in turn sapped 1500 attackpoints from Kozmo Dark Destroyer(8/1500/2000). "You've waited long enough! Here come the attacks!" The dragon(4000/2000) coated its body with its stolen energy and it drove its bladed jaws right into the Dark spaceship.

Anastasia's LP: 2300

"i see." The destruction of the Destroyer activated its death-clause. "this time it will be kozmo sliprider." Dark Destroyer banished itself and special summoned a smaller Kozmic ship from her deck; a red wingfighter(5/2300/800). "when the sliprider appears, one spell or trap is destroyed." The spacejet fired lasers from its wings towards the Iris in the Sky. Uno's field spell wound up in the graveyard. "Hey. Couldn't you have negated that effect?" Eric yelled. Uno also controlled Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon(8/2500/3000). The fused dragon could negate spells, traps or monster effects once a turn. "I could. But I'm worried that's what she wants me to do." Uno eyed Anastasia's face-down traps. Either one could be bad news. "you are learning, brother." A smile briefly crossed Anastasia's face. "Heh, well. Fool me once, shame on me! Now, my second attack!" Uno ordered the Vortex Dragon to attack Kozmoll Wicked Witch(4/1900/300). The attack hit and burned the target to cinders. "Hm?" The Wicked Witch could've saved herself if Anastasia allowed it, which was what Uno expected. _"She must be trying to conserve LP."_ He placed a trap card down. "That was my turn, Anastasia."

Anastasia's LP: 1700

"i see that too." The Lady drew a card. "your fusion did not exist until you created it." She looked at the Vortex Dragon and walked over to it. "Uh..hey?" There was no rule against it, but it was still weird to see her approach his monster and pet it as if it was a real beast. "it is beautiful, uno. but you do not understand yet how you made it, do you?" She asked. He shook his head. "i will help you with that too. i will make it so that you can only win that way. kozmotown, i want my destroyer again." With her field spell of Kozmotown, Anatasia returned the banished Kozmo Dark Destroyer to her hand. That drained 100 lifepoints for each levelstar on the eight-star machine. "Ah.. you're almost.." Alice gasped when she saw how little life Anastasia retained.

Anastasia's LP: 800

"i am used to dueling like this." Anastasia mused and activated a spell card, Emergency Teleport, the psychic summoning card. It special summoned another Kozmo Farmgirl(3/1500/1000) from her deck. "it never ends, does it uno?" She immediately banished the Farmgirl. Her effect special summoned the Kozmo Dark Destroyer(8/3000/2000) from her hand, and the spaceship targeted Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon for destruction. "Unless you change things yourself! I activate Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon to stop your Destroyer!" Vortex Dragon returned a pendulum monster in the extra deck, Performapal Kaleidoscorp, to the main deck. By paying that cost, it could succesfully negate and destroy Kozmo Dark Destroyer. "but the cycle keeps going." Dark Destroyer banished itself all over again. "i choose kozmo landwalker from my deck." This time the ship's effect special summoned a ground-based vehicle; the four-legged spider-tank(6/2400/1200). "and.. some die before they see the changes. i activate kozmojo." Now her trap was revealed. "one kozmo dies, and one other card is permanently banished." Kozmojo targeted Kozmo Sliprider and Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon, destroying the first to banish the second. "Dang. Dark Destroyer was a sacrifice."

"it was. allthough i wouldn 't have minded either outcome." Anastasia pointed her finger at the XYZ-dragon next to her. "he is next. i need you, kozmo goodwitch." As Sliprider was destroyed, it could also banish itself and special summon a lowerleveled Kozmo from the deck. It was Goodwitch the kinder pixie-winged sister(4/1800/1000) of the Wicked witch. "i will give her some of what lifepoints remain, so she can make your dark monster hide in face-down defense." The Goodwitch sprayed Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon with bubbles, which flipped its position. "Uh oh." Dark Rebellion's defense was only half as great as its attack. "my landwalker will attack it." The Landtank easily stomped the defending dragon into the ground. "and my witch will attack you." Goodwitch grabbed her sword and lit up the blade of light. "Can't let that happen yet, sister! I activate Performapal Call!" Uno's trap stopped the witch dead in her tracks. "Performapal Call negates one attack and then it gives me two Performapals whose combined defense is lower than your monsters attack!" The Goodwitch had 1800 attackpoints, so Uno could add Performapal Extra Slinger and Skullcrobat Joker to his hand. Their defense added up to 1200.

Anastasia's LP: 300

"i am glad to see that you are so good at staying alive, brother." Anastasia passed the turn back to him. "Yeah well. We're both just about at our limit, so..something's gotta give!" Uno pulled his next card, wondering if it would be something miraculous. ".." Instead he got a simple trap card. "Hrm. I set Performapal Extra Slinger!" The red pendulum zone was handed over to a young boy (scale 6) in star-studded clothes. "If I do not pendulum summon this turn, Extra Slinger can inflict 300 points of damage for each pendulum monster in my extra deck!" Performapal Partnaga, Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix, and the Gazer magicians surrendered some energy to the Slinger. "That's 1200 damage!" The Slinger fired four starbit pellets with his slingshot. "He got her!" Eric cheered prematurely. "No, she is.." Alice saw her activate the trap she had set three turns ago. "Soul Point." Anastasia uttered its name loud and clear. As the four shots hit her, her body absorbed the damage and rejected it. "i believe i told you how this would end, brother. i wont let any simple performapal break my limit."

 _Point of the Soul, Continuous Trap  
_ _Destroy this card if your lifepoints are higher than your opponents.  
_ _Reduce all damage that is higher than your current lifepoints to 0._

"No wonder she wanted her life so low." Alice realized the endpoint of her strategy. It would take something special to get Uno out of this. "What the? That card can't be fair!" Eric protested. An all purpose damage nullifier was something not even the guilds would use. "Is that something you made?" In fact Uno did not think anyone but her _could_ use it. "you preferred making new monsters out of old ones, through fusion, synchronization or overlaying. i.. liked to make spells and traps." She admitted to that much. "Well. I wish you could give me tips on how you do it." Uno placed his trap card down. He also summoned Performapal Skullcrobat Joker(4/1800/100), so that he could use its effect and search his deck for a Performapal. That was Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer in this instance.

"it cannot be told, Uno. it must be felt. you will be ready when the time comes. you have to be." Anastasia started her turn with the effect of Kozmotown to unbanish Kozmo TinCan. The field spell only asked for 100 of her lifepoints when it targeted the level 1 robot. "the town shuffles kozmo cards to my deck, to draw new cards." Now she used Kozmotown's secondary effect; moving Kozmo Tincan back into the deck to draw a a new card. "my pretties... attack." Kozmo Landwalker stormed towards the Joker acrobat and crushed it underneath its metallic feet. "Oh I have another trap! Performapal Revival!" With his Performapal destroyed, he could revive one of his other Performers. He special summoned Performapal Sleight Hand Magician(7/2500/2000) from the graveyard in defense mode, since he had no idea what could be in her hand now. Its defense was higher than Goodwitch's attackpoints at least. "Landwalker." His precautionary summon only half payed off. Anastasia banished the Goodwotch to summon another landtank(6/2400/1200) from her hand. "destroy the magician." Alas, though it was technically stronger, in defense mode the red wizard had to admit defeat and death to the attacking Landwalker. "brother, the longer you wait, the less chance you have that it will work. please.. try it, for the family." She placed a trap card and ended her turn.

Uno's LP: 700

 _"The longer I wait.."_ Uno looked at his own deck. _"How much time do I really have?"_ Four years, that was how long both worlds supposedly could coexist. Did he even have time to play around, when Tempus was no longer alive? Would have have to fix everything? Could he even do that? When he couldn't even control what powers he did have? He was afraid to even draw his next card.

"Uno! You did it before! Just try to remember what that felt like!"

"Wha-huh?" Alice's bright voice pulled him out of his trance this time. "Don't think about the bad times, when you couldn't do anything! Think about happy memories, maybe that will make you feel stronger.." This was the same advice her family always gave her, when she was scared or remembering the dark times too much. It always helped her. "...happy memories." Anastasia repeated the words, as she watched this interaction between the two. "You.. are right. I can do this." The pounding in his chest went away, his heart was calming down. "I can do anything!" The light of his pendulum started to glow slightly. "Draw!" He pulled a card from his deck. "A Magician?" He definitely had never used this one before, was it a pendulum monster. Yet it was exactly what he needed. "I summon this monster, Tuning Magician!" This was his creation, a young mage(1/0/0) with long pink hair and neon green lights on her robe-like armor. "When Tuning Magician is summoned, I lose 400 lifepoints and my opponent gains 400 lifepoints!" The Tuner transferred some of Uno's life to Anastasia.

Anastasia's LP: 700 Uno's LP: 300

"Huh? It hurts you when you summon it? How is that.." Eric did not see why Uno created something so harmful, until Point of the Soul destroyed itself. "Of course! Now he can hit her lifepoints again!" With his life decreased, Anastasia's trap was rendered inoperable. "this is your answer?" Anastasia seemed surprised. "Yeah! And this is just a warm-up!" Uno placed Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer (scale 2) in his other pendulum zone. "I Pendulum summon my pals and wizards!" Four beams of light shot down. In a single flash, Performapal Partnaga(5/500/2100), Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix(5/2000/1000), Skullcrobat Joker(4/1800/100) and TimeGazer Magician(3/1200/600) appeared. All in attack mode. "Since a Performapal was pendulum summoned, the Pendulum Sorcerer can add 1000 attackpoints to all my Performapals!" The Partner snake(1500/2100), light phoenix(3000/1000) and Joker(2800/100) all powered up. Now he could certainly make mincemeat of her monsters and lifepoints.

"your friends, you have a bond with them. you got stronger in that other world. but..i want to see more." Anastasia flipped her face-down quickplay spell, Limiter Removal. "Gah!" The spell doubled the attackpoints of all her machines, of both Landwalkers(4800/1000). They would be destroyed during the endphase, but that hardly mattered since their destructions would just summon new Kozmo cards. "You used it now? You... want to see me break my own limits." Limiter Removal could have been sprung on him during the battle phase. "I already made fusions and XYZs." He had Tuning Magician, she was a tuner. The math spoke for itself. "All that's left is.." The light that still burned inside his crystal turned pale blue. "Synchro!" He took three monsters. "I tune Tuning Magician with Performapal Skullcrobat Joker and Timegazer Magician!" Eight stars were thrown into the tuning rings. "A synchro monster?" Eric and Alice cried out in unison. "This is my creation, my new magician! Synchro summon! Enlightenment Paladin!" The rings turned to gold and were cut up by two blades. Those blades belonged to the temporal white knight; Enlightenment Paladin(8/2500/2000).

"Enlightenment.. Paladin." Anastasia called it out in awe. "When Enlightenment Paladin has a pendulum summoned Magician as one of his synchro materials, he returns one spell from my graveyard to my deck!" The Paladin slammed his swords together and spun them counter-clockwise. The motion turned back time itself. "I take Union Attack!" It was the very card he had discarded at the start of the duel. "First Partnaga gives the Paladin a boost with his power!" There were four 'Performapal' cards on the field, which meant four powerboosts for the Paladin(3700/2000). "And then Union Attack adds the attackpoints of ALL my monsters to Enlightenment Paladin!" The phoenix and snake gave their fire and energy synchro performer(8200/2000). "This is it is, Anastasia! The climax of the show! Enlightenment Paladin attacks!" The enlightened spellcaster spun towards one of the Landwalkers and slashed it clean in half. "The damage inflicted with a Union Attack is negated. But Enlightenment can inflict its own damage! It takes 1 lifepoint away for each attackpoint it defeated. You lose 2400 lifepoints!" The cut left behind a powerful wave of holy flames. "Ah.." Anastasia was overwhelmed.

Anastasia's LP: 0

"there it is." Anastasia moved her hand across her field and withdrew all her cards at once. She conceded. "You know, I get the feeling you let me win." Uno wasn't that oblivious. Even if he disregarded her use of Limiter Removal, she could have used Kozmo Landwalker's effect to negate its own destruction by destroying another Kozmo card she controlled. "there was no need to continue. you got something back that you thought you had lost. do you now understand why you can do it?" He nodded slowly. "I think so. I always had this feeling that these cards were than just pictures. They were part of the past, a world with magic. Now, for whatever reason, these cards are all that's left of their power. And I guess we are in tune with that?" Sometimes he swore he could hear the cries of the monsters, like they were alive and calling out to him. "our souls are in tune, we have special spirits. that is what our father told us. he could hear their voices too, to ask them for their powers. the cards are frames from a story only few can remember, people like us." She seemed to get a bit misty-eyed as she spoke of him, which made Uno wonder. "Anastasia, this duel was great. But I still.. cannot remember him. Do you have a photo of him somewhere?" If he could just see Tempus' face.

"oh.. it never occurred to me to show you." Anastasia clicked a few buttons, and produced a two-dimensional picture. "he left no trace, no grave; he did not want to be recorded. after his end, he was cremated. all we have is our memories of him. i drew this to remind myself of him." It was a crude but clear drawing of a mans face. He had a long flowing beard, white hair and thick eyebrows. "He's older than I thought he'd be." Eric said. "So that's who started everything?" Alice felt the room get a little colder. "Tempus.." To Anastasia this guy was like a saint. To them He was the man who doomed the world. "Ehr.. I hope you don't mind me asking. But how did he die anyway?" Eric didn't want to let that question gnaw at his brain anymore. "he died the way of most, his body had seen too many years." The answer was cruelly simple. "Oh. I'm so sorry." Alice said, to her and to Uno. "he went in peace. that is what mattered."

"oh.. I believe it is time for dinner." The lady stared at the giant clock against the walls. There was one on every floor of this tower. "Oh boy. I can't wait!" Eric rubbed his hands together. He hadn't eaten anything good since the tournament.

When they arrived the table was already set, a dozen plates hid their tantalizing contents behind silver covers. "What's this?" However the meal could not begin right away, as Marco, Adamant and a few soldier duelists were positioned around the entrance. "We have an Announcement to Make. I Thought it would be Tasteless to not give you this Information as soon as Possible. We have Good and Bad news." Marco tossed a card at Uno. "What is this? The good news?" There were numbers on the map; coordinate numbers. "Verily! We have found one of your targets, the Brandt household. It was proving too Difficult to search by Full names, but we narrowed it down to a Town and a Street." Hearing this, Alice could barely control herself. "You mean you found her? You found Emily?" She was so happy, she felt like jumping. "That's great.. but what is the bad news?" Uno had to ask. "The ones who Attacked you in the Tunnels. Inquisitor Silver and her Templars found Nothing when they scoured the Underground wreckage, not even Bodies. They must have Escaped using an exit We didn't know of." That was the bad news. "No.." Alice stopped jumping. "Oh no.." Dame Phoebe got away. "Are you sure?" She looked at Adamant. He nodded silently. "But then.. I said no to her.. Dad.. She's going to.."

...

"I am going to cut off his head and serve it to that little Alice on a platter!" An enraged guild leader paced through her dimly lit lair. Phoebe came so close, and that girl ruined everything. "Uhm. Hmm. No. I don't think that.. would be a good idea, plan." There were others with her in the lair; an unknown woman, Martel and Ichirou. "MC is right. If you had listened to her to begin with, the situation wouldn't have spiraled out of control. Now they are out of our reach, protected by Millennium." Ichirou, was quite happy to talk about Phoebe's recent failure. "Aw. Are you sweet-talking MC now?""Burn in hell, Ichirou!" Dame and Phoebe growled. "It's true though, Dame. We... can't damage our bargaining chips now! They're the only leverage we have left. Be-sides, it's not as if they stop us. We have the portal, and we have Martel." MC, the unknown woman, talked with a nasal tone while she hid behind a swarm of computers and flatscreens. "We need to send them a message, new terms. We can settle this without making a... mess." She proposed. "A message. I will do that." The puppetmaster spoke up. "I still feel my pieces, they wont stay asleep for long. I can't control them, but they can hear me."

Hearing this, Phoebe finally stopped. "Oh? Heheeh. Well, I know what you can say to get them to dance to our tune."

(To be Continued in Redux 064: Quiet Moves)

 **New Cards used by Christopher 'Uno' Nisell  
** Performapal Extra Slinger  
Tuning Magician

-  
Enlightenment Paladin

-  
Union Attack

 **New Cards used by Anastasia Nisell  
** Kozmo Sliprider  
Kozmo Landwalker  
Kozmo Good Witch

-  
Emergency Teleport  
Limiter Removal

 _-  
_ Kozmojo _  
_ _Poi_ _nt of the Soul_


	27. Quiet Moves

**Redux 64: Quiet Moves**

Marco would have liked for his grand feast to be one of joy and celebration. It was the grand return of his brother after all. But one guest was dealing with the dreadful news of Phoebe's escape. Other guests kept inquiring about progress on finding their Master or friend. "Lady Iria, it will take longer to Look for someone who has no Identity. Sir Stonewell, the Inquisition tells me it's not that Simple to Free someone from the Monument. They are working on it as we speak. Miss Brandt, I Promise you my troops are still Searching for this woman who his holding your Father hostage. Templars don't need to Rest. If they are In this world, they cannot Hide forever." The lord tried to calm them all at once. "Yeah. It's not all bad. Tomorrow we can see your other family, Alice." He had Eric on his side to support Alice's spirit. "That is Correct! I would Have let you Go sooner, but the Brandts live to the far East. They are Fast Asleep now. But one Teleport is all it Takes to get us There!" This got her to at least light up a little. "You think it's going to be okay?"

"Yeah, do you?" Stonewell cut in. "You sit here eating, while that twofaced woman does who knows what." He'd been throwing verbal barbs around the table from the start, mostly at Eric. "I know that twofaced lady a little, okay? She's probably mad, but she's not dumb. She knows hurting my mom wont help her get what she wants, if she has no way to gloat about it." Phoebe couldn't exactly send an email. "You are naive. And this is all pointless." Stonewell had his fill of this 'gathering', he stormed off the table and left the room. "He didn't even Touch his Plate." Marco sighed.

Not much was said at the table for the rest of the evening. It was afterwards, when everyone went their separate ways, that certain topics could be addressed. Uno met Iria outside in the hallway, to share some suspicions. "We have gone over this. Dom said it himself, you are not UNO." She found them a little difficult to swallow. "Well he didn't know the whole story. He didn't know UNO lived in another dimension, or that my name is Fortuno. Or that I am supposed to be a lot older than I really am. It ties together too well." These were the facts noone could deny. "And maybe my attitude just changed a little, when 'whatever' happened to make me younger." It was not as if he could bring those memories back. "And I know what you're thinking. Zach dueled a hologram of UNO. UNO's been sending messages to Dom and supposedly cards to me during some of my duels. But are you sure that that was him? What if whoever kicked me out of my own world also replaced me as Doms contact? Just tell me if that sounds crazy at all."

"Of course it sounds 'crazy'." Iria muttered. "But.." Uno lifted his eyes. "After that duel, when Zach returned, Master Dom mentioned that it was odd that UNO did not recognize him. Dom always told his contacts about his disciples." He gasped. She was actually giving him hope. "So it could be true! Though that still doesn't tell me much." Who could have done this, or why? "Uno. I say this as.. a friend." Iria used the last word with mild reservation. "But you do _believe_ what the Nisells are telling you, about your age and your adoption? Do you trust them?" If they are your family, then I suppose you would be the best judge of that." The disciple did not want him to get his hopes up, even if she did not say that out loud. "I.. think I do, those two at least. Anastasia is helping me, Marco is trying to help all of us. I believe what they're telling me.. More than I believe this 'union' they inherited." If there was anyone not to trust, it was Tempus. There was more to this than what 'dad' told his children.

"It is late. We can continue this tomorrow." Iria stated. She wanted to return to the infirmary as soon as possible. "Yeah okay. Guess I'm gonna hit the hay in my own bed for once. That should be something."

It was quite something indeed. His royal chamber could hold a dozen people. The bed alone was something you'd expect a king to sleep in. There was a porch outside with a view of the city and a pool. Inside there were elaborate closets, big TV-screens, paintings, rugs and a crystal chandelier. _"All of this.."_ This was his room, exactly how he had left it.. according to Marco and Anastasia. It was hard to see himself living here. _"But.."_ He tried the bed. It felt just right, his body recognized the softness at once. _"It's mine."_ He was truly home. If he wasn't so tired he'd try to explore every nook and cranny, just to discover more about himself. That bookshelf alone could teach him everything. _"You'll get there, Uno. You can do it, you learned a lot today already."_ It took him only one try to create a new card. Maybe he could follow in Tempus' footsteps to save the world. "Save the world? Heh. What am I; a superhero?" He guessed this explained why he wanted to connect with so many duelists; he was in charge of a whole planet.

...

"Morning." Adamant said as Iria arrived at the infirmary the next day. "I thought you would want to stay here at all time." He only got in a few minutes before her. "What I would want? You may know how to talk to soldiers, but you do not know how to talk politely.. Adamant." She would damn well go where she pleased. Besides, the hospital staff didn't allow nightly sleepovers. "They would tell me if there were any changes, and I would be down here in a matter of minutes." For a tower with this many floors, the elevators were ridiculously fast. "I presume you are here for your man." Pawn, the duelist that Adamant had beaten down, used to be a member of Adamants guild.. before Martel got to him. "For all of them. Phoebe's escape has made it necessary to question them. If they were aware of what the fusion guild has been doing, they could help us find them." Phoebe had to have a hideout somewhere close, a place to put the quite large portal machine. "I can tell you're a leader, you always think in strategic terms." Iria smirked. "So, did you see anything of note inside this palace?"

Before Adamant could answer that question, he heard a sustained flat tone escape the room. "No!" Adamant pushed the door open immediately. "He's gone!" One bed was empty, the heartmonitor flatlined because the tube was disconnected. "It was the duelist from this world, Bishop! He fled, and he took his cards with him!" There was an empty drawer and an open window. It led straight into the garden. "What? Why would he? Is he still under Martels control?"

...

"Did you sleep well?" Eric and Alice woke a little later than the others, and the two met each other outside in the hallway. "I guess. I'm not really used to soft pillows." Alice said as she yawned. "Yeah, but do you at least feel a little better now?" There was no mistaking the quality of their rooms. Eric never slept better. "I think so. I didn't have any bad dreams this time. I just kept thinking about what you said and that helped." She just accepted that there was nothing she could do right now, and that Phoebe wouldn't do anything either yet. "Good. Because now I am the one who's getting worried." Eric groaned. "Worried how my mom is gonna react when she finds out what I was doing while she was..."

"..huh?" Eric got quiet. He saw a boy standing in the middle of the hall. "What the? Isn't that.." He did not recognize this kid instantly without the black hood and cloak, but his face was the same as the duelist Uno fought in the tunnels. "It's one of Martels.. Bishop. I think.." Alice was not yet sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. "Who.. are you?" The boy mumbled to himself. "Uh.. Hello! I'm.. Alice! And this is Eric. I see you woke up, and talking! That's good.. right?" She also wasn't sure if he was feeling well. "What.. was I doing?" His words came out slowly and his legs were wobbling. "Getting lost?" Eric suggested. "No. That's not it.. I was.. somewhere else.. Now I am here.. gah!" A sharp throbbing pain struck his forehead. "You don't look okay.. uhm.. can you tell us your name? We didn't know it yet.." Something was clearly still wrong with him. Only now did she noticed the dueldisk strapped to his wrist. "No name. I am his Bishop. I am Bishop.. He's still talking to me.. Ah! I will do it! I will do it! Don't hurt me!" Too late. Bishop activated his disk.

Bishop's LP: 8000

"The king wants this." He took the first turn and didn't even wait to see who would meet his challenge. He summoned Dokidoki(2/500/500), a yellow-eyed demon hiding in a heart-shaped jar. "I am ...his." Dokidoki's effect set a rock type monster from the deck by discarding a rock-type monster from Bishop's hand. Both monsters had to have the same level. "Martel? But he isn't here! You don't have to do this!" Alice cried out. "I have to. He is always there!" Bishop discarded a Pot of the Forbidden to special summon a second Pot of the Forbidden from his deck inface-down defense position. The boy also placed a trap card behind the jarmonster and ended his turn. "Damn. Alice, I will.." Eric tried to get out his cards. "Double damn!" He left them in his room! "Alice, you don't.."

Alice's LP: 8000

Alice activated her dueldisk. "Someone has to..." She was the only one who could duel him, and talk to him. "You're save here Bishop. You can have your own life again! Uno saved you!" She pleaded with him while she also normal summoned the Dance Princess of the Nekroz(4/1600/1000) in attack position. "You're doing something without him right now! You're not dueling like his puppet!" The fact that he was not summoning Triamids again had to mean something. "You don't.. understand. I can hear him, right now! He wants this, he will always find me!" Bishop screamed. "Alice, it's just like with me. I kept hearing Phoebe's voice in my head too. Maybe the more you hit him, the weaker Martels control will get?" That was how it worked when Iria dueled him. Allthough in that case and unbeknownst, another psychic had given him a helping hand. "I can try." Alice said wearily. She didn't want to fight someone who was forced to do it. She sent the Dance Princess out to attack and destroy DokiDoki with a blast of ice. After that she placed her town trap and let the turn end.

Bishop's LP: 6900

"No. I am not.. strong enough!" Bishop's turn came and he flipped his face-down monster, Pot of the Forbidden. The large black jar(10/2000/3000) flipped upwards and set off one of its flip effects. "He wants.. to draw." Bishop activated the monsters first effect; drawing two cards. "And he wants to see.. what he likes." He normal summoned a more familiar rock monster, the Triamid Dancer(3/400/1900). "You can't.. save me. I will never be free.. I don't even remember.. what it was like before Him!" Bishop freaked out again and activated his trap card; Rock Bombardement. "Ah!" The trap sent a rock monster from the deck to the graveyard to inflict 500 points of damage. A Sentry Soldier of Stone was dropped on top of her. "Alice!"

Alice's LP: 7500

"It's okay." The hologram faded through her. "He can't hurt me. You can't do Solid Visions here." Nevertheless, Bishop continued his assault. "Sentry Soldier.." The only monsters he controlled were rock-types. Due to that, the discarded Stone Soldier(3/1300/2000) could summon itself from the graveyard with its own effect. "XYZ-summon." Bishop overlayed that monster with Triamid Dancer. The XYZ-monster he created was Soul of Silvermountain, the magma giant fused to the moving mountain(3/1800/2200). "Negate." Soul of Silvermountain detached one material. "Awp.." Alice's facedown trap was petrified. The Silver Soul could negate the activations of face-down cards as long was it was on the field. "Attack. Yes, attack!" After that the XYZ-giant destroyed the Dance Princess with magma spewing from its chest-mouth. Meanwhile the shadowy demon slithered out of the Forbidden Jar to strike Alice directly. "Summon." In the second main phase, Bishop used the effect of Soul of Silvermountain to revive a rock monster, now that it had destroyed one of Alice's monsters. "I have to do this." He special summoned Dokidoki in defense mode. Finally he placed two trap cards behind it. "His turn..is over."

Alice's LP: 5300

"Alice. Maybe I should get the others. Maybe.." Eric didn't think this looked good. There was no-one around to help them. "No. I can do this!" But Alice was only getting started. "I will use Sprite's Blessing to ritual summon a Light ritual monster!" A holy circle was placed on the ground, she sacrificed the Nekroz of Gungnir in her hand to it. "Sauravis, the Ancient and Ascended!" A long diamond-blue dragon(7/2600/2800) with a long flowing beard flew into the halls. "And I will summon a Nekroz ritual monster too!" She discarded Nekroz of Clausolas from her hand, to add Nekroz Mirror to her hand. "The Mirror tributes Nekroz of Clausolas and Gungnir from my graveyard to ritual summon Nekroz of Decisive Arms!" The cannon and armor-carrying Nekroz dragon(10/3300/2300) joined the dragon sage on Alice's side of the field. "He can destroy and banish one set card each turn!" The Nekroz monster fired a cannonblast into the set card on Bishop's left. Dimensional Sphinx was banished. "Then.. they will fight with your monsters in attack mode!" Sauravis the Ancient crushed Soul of Silvermountain with its tail. Nekroz of Decisive Arms fragmented the Forbidden Pot with a series of jabs. "Bishop? Did that help? How do you feel now?"

Bishop's LP: 4800

"Help? You cannot help me.. he's.. getting louder. He wants more.. " Bishop's response was to activate a continuous trap, Triamid Pulse. "!" Each turn, by banishing two rock monsters from his graveyard, he could either revive one rock monster or destroy one card. "But he can't make you do it! He's only yelling because you are affraid of him! Don't let him get away with it!" Eric shouted. ".. He can..not?" Bishop stopped his hand before it reached the graveyard. "Then what do I..do?!" His hand did not stay paralyzed for long. He banished both Forbidden Pots from his graveyard, to special summon Triamid Dancer. "Is that what he wanted you to do?" Alice wondered. It would have been better for him to choose the destruction effect; because. "I activate Sauravis' effect! I can return it to my hand to stop the special summon of another monster!" Her Crowned dragon banished the summoned monster. "Ngh.. But now it's my turn!" Bishop activated Dokidoki's effect again, discarding another Triamid Dancer to special summon a Triamid Hunter(3/1400/900) from his deck. "Destroy Decisive Arms!" After that he banished the discarded and Soul of Silvermountain to reactivate Triamid Pulse. He wanted to destroy her card this time, but by now it was too late.

"I can discard Sauravis from my hand, to negate your effect!" The ritual dragon possessed a hand-effect as well, one that defended ritual monsters when cards targeted them. Triamid Pulse was negated. "See? You _are_ fighting him!" Alice didn't take Martel for the kind of duelist who would make an oversight like that. "No.. I was just.." But Bishop was not ready to admit it yet. "It's not my fault!" He activated more effects. He activated the field spell Triamid Kingolem to power up Triamid Hunter(1900/900) and he re-summoned the Stone Sentry Soldier from the graveyard. "I.. tribute summon The Despair URANUS!" Dokidoki and the Sentry were sacrificed for a massive sphere(9/2900/2300) made from blue stone and gold. "Despair gains 300 attack and defense points for all of my spells and traps." Triamid Pulse and Kingolem added 300 attackpoints to the seventh planet(9/3500/2300). "He will.. kill Nekroz of Decisive Arms!" The face on the front of the sphere opened and fired a golden bolt of lightning down to the armored dragon.

"I'm sorry." Alice flipped her trap card; Drowning Mirror Force. "I can't imagine how horrible it's been, how he treated you.." The forces of water absorbed the lightning from URANUS and retaliated against all enemies in attack position. The waves dragged the Despair Planet and Triamid Hunter down into the depths, forcing them back into Bishop's deck. "But it's almost over." Bishop had planned to end his turn with that attack. Instead he had to end it with nothing. "Just.. let it happen. We will protect you here. I promise, we wont let him hurt you again!" Alice drew her card. She discarded it, the Nekroz of Catastor, to activate its effect to bring another Nekroz to life. The Dance Princess returned to the field. "I.. what would I even do? Without my King?" Bishop did not try to fight back, he did not touch the Triamid trap. "Anything you want." Alice said, and she entered the battle phase. "I am going to attack now. Here they come!" The Nekroz dragon with the Decisive armor and the Dancing Princess gathered their energy and let it loose against the boy. "Gua...Grahaaaa!"

Bishop's LP: 0

"Guys!" It was now that Uno finally showed up in the halls. "What's.. happening? Why is he up, what did he do?" He would have come sooner, but he couldn't hear the noise from his own room as he dug through his own stuff. "Uno. He.. he just walked up to us and started picking a fight." Eric said. "He didn't want to. Martel made him!" Alice added. "Martel?" Uno winced. He thought he had saved this kid. "I found you.." Once Bishop noticed Uno's presence, he weakly lifted his finger and pointed at the duelist. "He has a message for you... Mother.. father. You lost yours.. I don't remember mine." Bishop coughed. "Huh? What are you saying?" Uno didn't understand the message. "You have 36 hours... to come outside and play with him. Or.. he will make sure your friends never see their family again.. In either dimension." The Bishop finally passed out, his Kings message was at an end. "No way. He wouldn't! She wouldn't!" Eric got the threat all too well. "But they didn't do anything!" Phoebe was coming after the Stonewells and the Brandts in this timeline too. Even though she knew Alice was 'adopted'. "Uno, we have to stop her!" Alice cried. "I know. We will find them." Uno couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't let it happen. Not _here._

(To be Continued in Redux 063: Nature VS Nurture)

 **New Cards used by Alice Brandt  
** Sauravis, the Ancient and Ascended

-  
Sprite's Blessing

 **New Cards used by Bishop  
** Dokidoki  
Pot of the Forbidden  
Sentry Soldier of Stone  
The Despair URANUS

-  
Soul of Silvermountain

-  
Rock Bombardment  
Triamid Pulse


	28. Nature VS Nurture

**Redux 63: Nature VS Nurture**

The ability to instantly move from one end of the earth to the other was only a dream for most minds. Not so for the Nisell family. "Now don't feel Humiliated if it ends in Failure. I didn't learn it Right away either. Just Imagine where you want to Be, and you will Be there. Use the photos our Templars took of the Area and see yourself in It. Then have everyone stand within Range, about ten feet, and focus on your Crystal!" Lord Marco made it sound so simple. "must you really go, uno?" And Lady Anastasia made it sound dangerous. "you do not have to leave the safety of the palace. there is still so much for you to learn." She didn't understand why her brother had to go at all. He wanted to check up on the Brandts in this world, yet a templar check-up would be enough. "The safety of the palace you say? That same safety allowed a man to escape the infirmary." Adamant grunted. Though Bishop, Pawn and Zach were now back at the infirmary, with more guards posted and their cards taken away, that did not change the fact that Bishop got away in the first place. "I got this, Adamant. Anastasia, I'm not going in blind. I left the Odd-Eyes Pendulum card with Iria, so others dont get to steal it. If there's a trap waiting, I'll just warp back here. But if Alice wants to go see them, I want to be there with her." Lord Uno's mind was made up. "Uno.." Alice was grateful, while Anastasia sulked. "i... see."

"I am coming too." Said Stonewell as he walked into the conversation in the palace hall. "Huh? Why?" Eric wanted to know. "I have my reasons. And I am tired of being locked up in this place." That was all his counterpart had to say. "Well the More the Merrier! I would Go myself, if the Ministry wasn't Tugging at my Collar every half Hour." Marco chuckled heartily as he handed Uno a gold-coated card with the image of the palace on it. "Several Templars are Waiting to Escort you there, this Millennium Seal will Prove your Status to them. Should Trouble find you, the Troublemakers will find themselves in more Trouble." His brother laughed again. Uno nodded. "Thanks. Okay. Are we good to go?" The rest nodded too and got within ten feet of Uno, while the Nisells stepped back. "Then.. we're off! Maybe!" Uno placed the image in his head and grabbed his pendulum. One mental push later, he was standing inside that image in real life; in a picturesque small harbor town. "I did it!" For the first time, he pulled of a controlled 'warp'. _"I really need to make up a term for this."_

"Impressive.. It is a good thing only you and your family can 'abuse' this kind of power." Adamant didn't think his guild would have stood a chance against invaders if they all used pendulum crystals. "So this is the place? Do you recognize it Alice?" Eric remembered how the Brandts used to move from place to place lot. He could not be sure if this place was one of them. "No. Maybe it was from before.. I showed up. I never went to this country." It was all one big country now anyways. "Alice. Are you sure you are prepared for this? You must have considered that the familiar faces you are about to see are not actually your family." Adamant wanted to be clear on that. "I know. Mom, dad and Emily.. they wont even know me." She took a deep breath. "But it's fine, honest. I only want to see if they're okay." She looked around. "It's that house right?" The Brandt lived at the end of the street, according to the Unions data. It was a relaxed neighborhood, with children playing in a grassy field and an icecream van driving by. There was hardly any sign of the modernized world here. "Yeah. Wanna go and see if anyone's home?"

"I.. don't know. It'd be weeeird." Alice hesitated, which Uno understood perfectly. "Let me go first. The rest should stay back, especially you two. Two twins standing next to each other might draw too much attention." If the teleport hadn't shocked anyone already, Eric and Stonewell certainly would. "Okay." The other complied and converged behind a car. "Those Templars are still not here." Eric had no luck spotting their supposed escort in the sky so far. "What are the odds those guildpeople will show up right now?" Stonewell was not too worried, for multiple reasons. "Unless they can do what Uno can do, not great. Did you expect them?" Adamant caught of a hint of eagerness in Stonewells words. "We'd be ready for them this time." The duelist insisted. "..But what if they already got them, the fusion guild or the synchro guild?" Alice only got more nervous the longer it took. Uno was ringing the doorbell but nobody responded. "Maybe they're just not home yet, Alice. Emily is probably at school right now and your mom and dad are at work." As Eric tried to re-assure her, a grave epiphany struck. "Aw man, I'm missing school arent I?"

"Something is coming." Adamant broke up the chit-chat. "Huh? How did you.." Erics eyesight was put to shame; Adamant saw the Templars arrive way before he did. Two of them descended with the sun against their backs. "I hope they don't scare anyone." Alice didn't hear any outcry. People learned to adjust to the drones here. "Wait.. what are they doing?" These two were behaving very erratic though. They approached the house getting right behind him Uno. "Uh. Hey?" He turned to them, and that turned into a mistake. "Agkh!" One of the Templars released an electric shock and stunned Uno with it. "It's an attack!" Stonewell immediately activated his dueldisk. The other Templar locked on to Stonewell. Luckily he would not have to face the machines alone. "Aha" This time Eric made sure he brought his cards along. He activated a dueldisk as well and locked on to the other Templar. "What are you doing?" Stonewell yelled at his 'partner'. "Hey I've tagged in before! I know how this goes!" The two of them were now stuck in a tagteam duel against both Templars.

Team Eric's LP: 10000 Templars LP: 10000

"Uno, how are you?" Alice shouted. But she got no response, the attack zapped all consciouscness out of him. "No! We have to get him!" She panicked. "We can't." The two drones were in the way. If Adamant or Alice tried to bypass them, they would just create more virtual opponents. "Have either of you dueled Templars before? I know how they work and think." Stonewell drew five cards. "So just follow my lead, Eric." Stonewell placed a monster and a trap face-down and activated a continuous spell; Heart of the Underdog. "Unless you want to turn into a card." He ended the first turn. "But why didn't that golden card stop them? Why are they attacking Uno?" Alice couldn't imagine that either Marco or Anastasia would want this. "I do not know and they cannot tell us. Just stay close to me." Adamant didn't want to see anyone else get entangled in this.

 **"TEMPLAR SERIES G, CODE 4588076 AND 4589103 COMMENCING JOINT DUEL. BEGINNING TURN 02."** One Templar made his move. " **SUMMON THE TUNER JUNK CHANGER. IF SUMMONED, DECREASE ITS LEVEL BY ONE**." For its turn it summoned material monsters. Junk Changer(3/1500/900) was normal summoned, and its effect 'changed' its(2/1500/900) level. **"ACTIVATE THE SPELL ONE ON ONE. DISCARD ONE CARD TO SUMMON ONE LEVEL 1 MONSTER FROM THE DECK"** One Needle Soldier for one Tuningware machine(1/100/300), that was how the spell resolved. **"SYNCHRO SUMMON WITH THE TUNER AND NONTUNER."** Both monsters were synchronized to create a level 3 warrior, the shieldbearer Goyo Defender(3/1000/1000). **"WHEN TUNINGWARE IS USED AS A SYNCHRO MATERIAL. DRAW ONE CARD."** The Templar took a new card from the deck. **"GOYO DEFENDERS EFFECT; SPECIAL SUMMON ALL GOYO DEFENDERS FROM THE EXTRA DECK."** The first Goyo Defender slammed his baton into the floor, and it called out two more Defenders(3/1000/1000) in attack mode. With this three-layered defensive wall, they really couldn't get to Uno.

"Synchro monsters? You think this could be the Circle?" Cassius immediately came to mind when Eric saw what was summoned. "Possibly. They could be after the Pendulum Dragon as well. Though how could they gain control of the Templar series?" Adamant didn't think the guilds would try to attack them with these things. "Well stop asking questions and keep going! Its your turn!" Stonewell growled at his partner. The first Templars turn ended when it placed one trap card down. "Oh. Right!" Eric drew a card. "Oh and be careful Eric! These synchros get stronger if you attack them while there's others on the field!" Alice called out as she remembered another duelist using these monsters. "Got it! My turn! I activate Void Vanishment! I can discard one card to add a Void spell to my hand!" Eric's continuous spell discarded an Infernoid monster for a Void Expansion spell. "You don't have to explain it to them! They know every card!" Stonewell cursed impatiently. "Yeah yeah stop yelling at me already!"

Eric activated his second continuous spell; Void Expansion. A broken sephirotic tree sprang from the ground and spread hellish ice everywhere. So far no in-game effects were visible. "I'll summon Infernoid Lucifugus!" The discarded Infernoid was banished so that Harmadik of the third sin could claim a physical form(3/1600/0). "In attack mode?" Stonewell cringed. "Lucifugus can destroy one monster each turn you know!" Eric used the effect to destroy the left-most Goyo Defender. "But the others will still gain 1000 attackpoints from each other." Eric couldn't attack, even if Harmadik wanted too. "Yeah well. I have some defenses for that too. I know my lifepoints are yours too. I know what I am doing." Eric set two trap cards face-down. Now it was their turn. **"BEGINNING TURN 04. REACTIVATING GOYO DEFENDER'S EFFECT."** And that turn began swimmingly. "Wait what?" One of the Goyo Defender's special summoned the three Goyo Defenders(3/1000/1000)... from the other Templars deck. "You.. you didn't realize they shared fields?" One Templar could use the powers of the other Templars monster and vice versa. "Ergh. I didn't think about that."

 **"SUMMON JUNK ANCHOR."** The second Templar called out a little thin-limbed robot(2/0/0) **"A CARD IS DISCARDED TO SPECIAL SUMMON ONE JUNK-MONSTER FROM THE GRAVEYARD."** Junk Anchor discarded a Junk Giant card and then special summoned that very monster, the lumbering scrapheap holem(6/2400/0) back to the field. **"SYNCHRO SUMMON. GOYO KING. A SYNCHRO SUMMON WITH 'JUNK GIANT' CANNOT BE NEGATED OR CHAINED TO."** Junk Anchor was the tuner and Junk Giant the Nontuner, the two synchronized with each other to form a muscular swordsman(8/2800/2000) with kabuki make-up, long white hair and a large red ribbon tied to his back. "Is this their boss?" Eric said. Alas, Goyo King was not the only royalty in the extra deck. **"ACTIVATE POLYMERIZATION."** The Templar continued. **"TWO EARTH-WARRIOR SYNCHROS ARE FUSION MATERIALS FOR GOYO EMPEROR."** Two of the five Goyo Defenders jumped into the polymerizing vortex. What came out was a highly decorated kabuki emperor(10/3300/2500) with regal purple hair, seated on his comfortable throne. "They use Fusions too?" Alice gasped. "That's new." Adamant had never seen a Goyo fusion monster before. Was this something this world made up, or something the guild created with UNO's printer?

"Well.. okay this looks bad. I know Goyos love to take control of monsters. But, with Void Vanishment I can banish them if they try to battle my Infernoids." Eric spoke with optimism. **"ACTIVATE MYSTICAL SPACE TYPHOON."** Until the second Templar activated a spell from its 'hand'. "Damn, why does everyone have that card?" Eric's Vanishment spell was destroyed by the typhoon. "Just stop talking." Stonewell countered. "Trap card: Bad Aim!" When an effect was activated, Bad Aim would destroy one other card on the field. "I destroy Goyo Emperor!" He wanted to eliminate the guy at the top first. **"CHAINING WITH TRAP CARD, WIRETAP."** But that didn't work out. As the first templar revealed its set card. "No!" Wiretap negated Bad Aim and shoved it down Stonewell's deck. **"GOYO KING ATTACKS INFERNOID HARMADIK. THIS ATTACKING CARD GAINS 400 ATTACKPOINTS FOR EACH OTHER EARTH-WARRIOR-SYNCHRO ON THE FIELD."** The king increased its power thanks to the three Defenders, and he raised his blade. "Time for _my_ trap then! I activate Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light!" Just in time, Eric revealed his swords of golden energy. At the cost of some life..

Team Eric's LP: 9000

"Is this part of your great plan too?" Stonewell didn't like it that Eric activated this trap without consulting him. "Better than getting hit!" Eric could keep negating attacks by paying 1000 lifepoints. So when both Goyo King and Goyo Emperor tried to strike Infernoid Harmadik, Eric activated the continuous trap twice and lost only 2000 lifepoints in total. "You always assume I would agree with you! You think you can think for me. That is your problem, Eric!" Stonewell spoke with clenched teeth. "Yeah well, I'm beginning to regret backing you up too! I just want to help you like I want to help anyone else!" Eric fired back. "Guys, please don't fight each other! You're already fighting two other guys!" Alice griped. "She is correct. If I need to step in, I will." Adamant didn't want to see them lose a battle to themselves. "No. I can handle this." Stonewell shook his head. The second Templar couldn't keep attacking since Harmadik was stronger than the Defenders. It placed a trap card and ended its turn. So now Stonewell could pay them back.

Team Eric's LP: 8000

"Draw!" Stonewell pulled his next card and showed it off. "I drew a normal monster, Igknight Margrave!" As long as he got normal monsters during his draw phase, Heart of the Underdog would let him draw again. "Draw!" His second card was Igknight Gallant, another normal monster. "Draw!" His third card was a spell. So the fun ended at three draws, but that was plenty to play with. "Oh! During your standby phase, Void Expansion can create an Infernoid token in defense mode!" Before he forgot, Eric activated his other continuous spell. It created a tiny lightcontainer(1/0/0) with a dark spore inside. "You do that. Meanwhile I will use my Igknights spell effect to add Igknight Cavalier to my hand!" The Igknight Gallant and Margrave were set in the pendulum zones, and destroyed by their own effects. After that Stonewell could claim Igknight Cavalier from his deck. He placed that pendulum (scale 2) on his field, along with Igknight Templar (scale 7). "Pendulum Summon!" The extra deck was filled and ready. Both Igknight Margrave(5/1500/2500) and Ignknight Gallant(6/2100/2200) were summoned from there in attack-position.

 **"CHAIN GOYO EMPEROR'S EFFECT TO THE SUMMON. THIS CARD CAN TRIBUTE ONE EARTH-WARRIOR SYNCHRO, TO GAIN CONTROL OF ALL SUMMONED MONSTERS."** The Emperor raised his hand and sent one of the Goyo Defenders to his early retirement. "Crap!" That sacrifice allowed the Templars to take both of Margrave and Gallant. "Hmph. I also know what I am doing, Eric." Stonewell chained to the chaining Emperor with a quickplay spell in his hand. "Igknight Unite! I sacrifice Igknight Gallant to special summon Igknight Margrave from my deck!" Igknight Unite could switch out any two Igknights on the field and in the deck. Igknight Margrave(5/1500/2500) was special summoned in attack position too. Only Igknight Squire was brainwashed, at first. **"THE GOYO EMPEROR CHAINS AGAIN."** But the Emperor could use its power as often as it wanted. A second Goyo Defender was tributed and the fused Goyo claimed ownership of Igknight Margrave as well. "Aw man." Eric was not sure if this was the best strategy.

"Hmph. That Emperor has a weakness." Stonewell now normal summoned a card, the Rescue Rabbit(4/300/100). "It cannot control normal summoned monsters!" Rescue Rabbit's effect involved a selftribute in exchange for two level 4 or lower normal monsters with the same name. "I choose Igknight Dragnov!" Two Templar Igknights(4/1700/1300) were special summoned from the deck. "!" Eric braced for the worst. However this time the enemy did not activate Goyo Emperor's power. "Not hungry for more? I wouldn't be either. Monsters with this little attack can barely hurt you, right?" Monsters summoned by Rescue Rabbit were banished during the end of the turn. The Templars calculated the pros and cons and deemed the tribute not worth it. "Look, Adamant, Alice, Eric; this is typical Templar Intelligence. Can't recognize an ambush even when it comes from their own deck!" And now Stonewell completed his scheme, by flipping his face-down Igknight Paladin(4/1400/1900) face-up and activating the field spell Ignition Phoenix. "All Igknights on the field gain 300 attack and defense points!"

"Oh!" The magic phoenix flew into the sky and bathed Margrave(1800/2800), Squire(300/2300), Paladin(4/1700/2200) and the Templars(2000/1600) in sunlight. "Attack!" Igknight Paladin stabbed the mindcontrolled Igknight Squire and killed him. After that the first sniper Templar shot a bullet through the chest of Igknight Margrave. The last Igknight Templar fired a shot at Goyo Defender. **"ACTIVATE THE EFFECT OF GOYO DEFENDER."** The Defender raised its attack, but it(2000/1000) only had one other synchro warrior to take power from. "Yeah yeah yeah." So both the Igknight and the Goyo killed each other in the crossfire. "Now he's out of Defenders!" Eric was happy; Stonewell planned it all out. "I told you." Stonewell moved to the 2nd main phase and activated the effects of his cards again. Ignition Phoenix destroyed his remaining Templar Igknight, to place a new Igknight Squire in Stonewells hand. The Igknight Cavalier and third Templar card in the pendulum zone blasted each other to pieces and added an Igknight Cavalier card to Stonewell's hand. "Just listen to me, and we'll make it out alive." That was it for his turn.

Templar's LP: 8400

"We are starting to become an attraction." Adamant noted. Men and women in the streets and on the playground were all staring at the ongoing duel. "It's the giant phoenix isn't?" Eric figured that the duel would be hard to cover up after Stonewell played his field spell. "It should be fine. People never interfere in these affairs." Stonewell bitterly stated. And he was right, most of the onlookers rushed inside their homes and closed the doors. Most.. "What is going on? What are you doing in front of my house? What did I do?" There was one redhaired girl who did not have a home to get into at the moment.

"E.." Alice spun around. "Emily!"

It was her. "Emily you're okay!" For the shortest of moments Alice believed she would see the sister she always knew. But even though her eyes proved that this was someone else, she was happy. This girl's ruffled dress was not something her Emily tended to wear, and her hair was longer, and her face had more make-up. But she was safe, and that was more important than anything else. "Emily? Who are you talking about?" The girl asked confused and anxious. "What? About you?"

"Huh? My name's not Emily. I'm Amelia.."

(To be Continued in Redux 062: All Life is Imitation)

 **New Cards used by Eric Stonewell  
** Void Expansion

 **New Cards used by 'Inferno' Stonewell**  
Igknight Squire  
Rescue Rabbit

-  
Heart of the Underdog  
Igknight Unite

-  
Bad Aim

 **New Cards used by TEMPLAR SERIES-G**  
Junk Changer  
Tuningware  
Junk Anchor  
Junk Giant

-  
Goyo Defender  
Goyo King  
Goyo Emperor

-  
One for One  
Polymerization  
Mystical Space Typhoon

-  
Wiretap


	29. All Life is Imitation

**Redux 62:** **All Life is Imitation**

"Amelia?" That was her name, that was the name James and Heather gave their only daughter. Alice didn't know why, she knew nothing about her. "Wait! The Templars aren't here for you! Please don't be affraid!" Nothing except, that she was affraid. "If they're not here for me. Than they're here for you! What do you want?" She was afraid of her, of the sister she didn't have. "It is not what you think. These units were not supposed to attack us. It is a malfunction of sorts." Adamant did not strike an un-intimidating figure either. "No. Just stay away!" Amelia made a break for it, grabbing her phone as running back out the street. "Wait!" Alice's first instinct was to chase after her. "Alice. Don't! It will only worsen the situation. If we separate, we risk losing Uno and our way back to the palace." Adamant considered defending him a priority right now. "Oh thanks for the vote of confidence. That girl's probably gonna bring in reinforcements anyway." Stonewell grumbled and moaned. Nothing was going right. "But what if she gets attacked by Templars too? I just can't leave her!" Alice couldn't stop herself. "I'll keep my dueldisk so you know where I am going! I'm sorry. I have to.." She ran off after Amelia. "..Damn it. If only these friggin robots didn't get in our way." Eric cursed

Team Eric's LP: 8000 Templar G's LP: 8400

 **"BEGINNING TURN 06. ACTIVATE THE SPELL CARD; TUNER'S HIGH."** Of course, just because the gang was dealing with their problems, did not mean the Templars were going to wait while it was their turn. **"BY DISCARDING ONE MONSTER, ONE TUNER WITH THE SAME ATTRIBUTE AND TYPE, BUT A HIGHER LEVEL, WILL BE SUMMONED FROM THE DECK."** With Tuners High the first Templar discarded Bolt Hedgehog from its 'hand'. That monster's types were earth and machine, which paved the way for the special summon of the keywrench-headed robot Quick-span Knight(3/1000/800). **"WHEN A TUNER IS ON THE FIELD, BOLT HEDGEHOG MAY SPECIAL SUMMON ITSELF."** The discarded bolt-backed urchin tried to escape the graveyard. "Oh no you don't! I activate Infernoid Harmadiks effect!" Eric could retaliate and tribute an Infernoid during his turn with Harmadik's effect, to banish a monster from their graveyard. **"ACTIVATE IMPERIAL IRON WALL."** But the drones had an answer to that. "The hell?" The Imperial Wall was a continuous trap that blocked any form of banishing cards, including as a cost for summoning monsters. "I can't summon any Infernoids like this!"

 **"SYNCHRO SUMMON."** Now the Bolt Hedgehog(2/800/800) revived itself unabated, and tuned itself with the Quickspan Knight. Thanks to Imperial Iron Wall, the Hedgehog didn't even banish itself afterwards as it usually would have when it summoned itself. **"GOYO CHASER."** Another type of Kabuki officer(5/1900/1000) in green armor was summoned from the extra deck. **''AS QUICK-SPAN KNIGHT HAS BECOME A SYNCHRO MATERIAL, 500 ATTACKPOINTS WILL BE TAKEN FROM AN OPPONENTS MONSTER"** Stonewells Igknight Paladin(4/1200/1900) was the target for this effect. Quickspan loosened the bolts of its gun. Also immediately active was Goyo Chaser's own effect, which granted it(2200/1000) 300 attackpoints for each other Earth-Warrior synchro on the field.

 **"JUNK SYNCHRON."** The machines were still not through. Junk Synchron was normal summoned, which meant it would special summon a level 1 or 2 monster from the graveyard. **"NEEDLE SOLDIER IS SPECIAL SUMMONED."** The needle-armed android(1/100/100) was their first choice. And as they controlled a tuner monster once more. **"BOLT HEDGEHOG MAY SUMMON ITSELF."** The bolt critter jumped out of the ground for the second time **. "SYNCHRO SUMMON, GOYO PREDATOR."** This time three monsters were tuned. Junk Synchron, Needle Soldier and Bolt Hedgehog combined into a masked and beastly Goyo stalker(6/2400/1200). "Geez. Just how many Goyos are there?" Eric groaned **. "GOYO PREDATOR ATTACKS THE INFERNOID TOKEN."** The time came for their four Goyos to battle. "Eric! A monster synchro summoned with Needle Soldier can inflict piercing damage!" Stonewell shouted as the Predator tossed its baton towards Erics token(1/0/0). "Yeah like I'm going to let it!" Luckily Eric still had his Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light. He paid 1000 lifepoints and the trap negated the attack.

Team Eric's LP: 7000

 **"GOYO KING ATTACKS IGKNIGHT PALADIN."** It did not slow down. Next came the king(8/2800/2000) of Goyos who gained 400 attackpoints from his two subjects during its attack. "Nope!" Eric activated his trap once more and blocked the King(3600/2000)'s strike too. **"GOYO EMPEROR ATTACKS IGKNIGHT PALADIN."** Now the mighty Emperor(10/3300/2500) got up from his throne to lay a hand on the lowly Paladin. "Again!" Even the emperors advance was halted by the swords of light. **"GOYO CHASER ATTACKS IGKNIGHT PALADIN."** Finally came the third attack from the Chaser(2500/1000). "Eric you don't have to keep defending my monster. It's a pendulum, they wont gain control of it." Goyos only took over monsters that fell into the graveyard; pendulum monsters went to extra deck instead. "Yeah well. It still saves you 300 lifepoints!" Eric made his final payment to the Spiritual Swords and stopped Goyo Chaser. "Why cant you just listen to me?" Stonewell growled. "It's not you, Stonewell. I just got bad experiences with taking orders. Sometimes you just gotta do your own thing!"

Team Eric's LP: 4000

...

"!" Alice only got a few blocks down the road, when the chase came to an end. "D..dad." Amelia ran all the way to a construction area where she met her father. He worked there. "No..." Alice hid behind a car and kept watching. James Brandt embraced his frightened daughter, who frantically told him about the duel going on in front of their house, most likely. It was so very strange, to see them like this. Alice wanted to stay and look at them, she wanted to go over there and be with them. "I can.'t" They didn't know her. The only comfort she could take was knowing that they were going to be okay. _"I..should leave._ " She tore her eyes away from the sight and ran back. This was not her place.

...

The second Templars turn ended after it placed one trap down. "Alright. I've had enough of this. Time to break them down!" Eric activated the effect of Void Expansion again during his standby phase. **"CHAINING WITH THE TRAP; SCRAP-IRON STATUE. DESTROY ONE SPELL OR TRAP AFTER ITS EFFECT ACTIVATES. THEN RESET SCRAPIRON STATUE."** But the continuous spell was destroyed before it could resolve its effect and generate a token, a statue of a dragon shattered the expanding hell-ice. "Hey!" The only good news was that ScrapIron Statue could not be activated again this turn. "Fine! I'll use only one token!" Eric activated the other trap he had placed; Needlebug Nest. It discarded the top five cards of his deck. (Infernoid Seitsemas, Sjette, Patrulea, Monster Gate and Breakthrough Skill) "What's the point? You can't summon any of them." Imperial Iron Wall was still there to keep the Infernoids in their grave. "You'd think that." Eric normal summoned his tuner demon, the Infernoid Decatron(1/0/0). "Decatron discard Infernoid Asmodai from the deck!" The Infernoid sent to the grave, Piaty, gave its level stars, name and powers to Decatron(6/0/0). "I got something better! Look out, Stonewell. I tune Decatron with the Infernoid Token, and create Black Rose Dragon!"

"That card?" The token and the leveled up tuner created one of Erics favorite synchros, the destructive dragon(7/2400/1800) of black roses. "Wanna try and take control of this card, Templars? Oops too late!" As soon as it was special summoned, the Black Rose destroyed all cards on the field. The Goyos, Stonewells spells and Igknight Paladin, even Erics own cards; everything was burned to the ground. "I hope there's a second part to this plan, Eric." The Erics controlled nothing now. **"SCRAPIRON STATUE'S EFFECT ACTIVATES. WHEN DESTROYED, IT SUMMONS ONE 'JUNK' MONSTER FROM THE GRAVEYARD IN DEFENSE POSITION."** Meanwhile the Templars could put down on Junk Giant(6/2000/2400), thanks to the destroyed Scrap trap. "Oh, just the classic swam from hell." Imperial Iron Wall was no longer an issue. Eric could banish as many dead Infernoids as he wanted. "Belphegor! Baal!" He sacrificed Harmadik, Decatron, Piaty and Patrulea from the graveyard, to special summon for Infernoid Sjette the purple hellprince dragon(6/2400/0) and Infernoid Seitsemas(7/2600/0) from the graveyard. "Go get him!" Seitsemas destroyed the defending Junk Giant. Sjette pierced the left templar directly with its one horn. With Sjette inflicting damage, Eric could also banish one Goyo Emperor monster from their extra deck; another Goyo Emperor.

Templar G's LP: 6000

"Okay. Not half bad." Though Stonewell lost some cards, the enemy lost all of theirs. "Maybe you dont need that much help." This was the first time he saw his counterpart do well in a duel. "I'll take that." Eric liked hearing himself say that. "I set a card in my spell/trap zone. My turn's over now!" He also liked to see what the enemy would do now. **"BEGINNING TURN 08. SUMMON JUNK BREAKER."** They began with the normal summon of a caped knight(4/1800/1000) who wielded a spike-bolted staff. **"JUNK BREAKERS EFFECT, TRIBUTE THIS CARD TO NEGATE THE EFFECTS OF ALL MONSTERS CURRENTLY ON THE FIELD."** The Junk warrior jumped into the skies and creates a hurricane with itself at the center. **"What was that for?"** The only good this storm did was make sure his Infernoids could't banish any cards in their graveyards. **"ACTIVATE THE SPELL, MONSTER REBORN. SPECIAL SUMMON A MONSTER FROM THE GRAVEYARD."** Now he saw why. "Again!?" The second Templar brought back the Goyo King in attack position. "These machines work with what they know." Stonewell came to that realization long ago.

 **"ACTIVATE THE SPELL CARD; MIRACLE SYNCHRO FUSION."** Their follow-up was not entirely creative, but still unexpected. **"A FUSION MONSTER MADE FROM SYNCHRO MONSTERS IS FUSION SUMMONED, AND THE MATERIALS ARE BANISHED FROM THE GRAVEYARD."** Miracle Synchro Fusion fused two Goyo Defenders in the grave to create the second Goyo Emperor(10/3300/2500). "Not that one too!" Eric said with a loud groan. **"BATTLE PHASE! GOYO EMPEROR ATTACKS INFERNOID SEITSEMAS."** There were no Spiritual Swords to stop attacks anymore. "Eric! If Goyo Emperor attacks, it will get control of all your monsters!" Stonewell warned his partner, before it was too late. "Oh! Yeah! I banish Spiritual Swords of Light!" Eric could use one last defense; the spirit sword trap would negate all direct attacks this turn now it was banished. If he waited, then the Templars could have used the Infernoids effects against them to remove the trap before its effect could be used. He couldn't prevent the Emperor from attacking the demon lord of flies with its fiery breath though.

Team Eric's LP: 3300

 **"WHEN GOYO EMPEROR, OR A MONSTER OWNED BY THE OPPONENT, DESTROYS AN OPPONENTS MONSTER BY BATTLE, IT IS SPECIAL SUMMONED TO ITS SIDE OF THE FIELD."** The destroyed Infernoid flew back out of the grave, obeying a new Emperor. **"INFERNOID SEITEMAS ATTACKS INFERNOID SJETTE."** It could not resist its orders; the two Infernoids were forced into a fight with each other. "Guh!" As Eric took another hit and Seitsemas killed Sjette, the sixth sin demon was also indoctrinated into the Goyo army by Goyo Emperor's effect. At least neither Sjette nor Goyo King could lay a hand on the Stonewells this turn. **"ENDING TURN 08."**

Team Eric's LP: 3100

"Draw." Stonewell took out his next card. "Tch." It wasn't anything that could be used immediately. "I really don't want to give them another turn. I don't suppose you have anything that can stop the Emperor, do you?" So he swallowed his pride, and asked his other self for help. "I must've read your mind. Because.." Eric activated a trap from the graveyard with a big grin. "I have this! Breakthrough Skill! I can banish this card during our turn to negate a monster's effect!" The traps target was none other than Goyo Emperor. Monsters no longer had to fear its commanding gaze. "That's more than enough for me!" Stonewell activated Igknight Cavalier (scale 2) and Squire (scale 7). "PENDULUM SUMMON!" A total of five Igknights were called out from the extra deck. Igknight Gallant(6/2100/2200), Igknight Cavalier(7/2400/1200) and three Igknight Templars(4/1700/1300).

"Templars. I don't know who you answer to, if not the Union. But let me tell you a quick story. I took this deck from one of these machines and I didn't like it at first. It reminded me too much of the hateable parts of the Union. But it grew on me, and I even picked a favorite, one that stands out among all these nearly idential pendulum knights. This.. is that card." Stonewell placed it on the field. "When I control three or more Igknights, I can destroy three to special summon Igknight Stinger!" The three Templars were dismantled and their parts re-assembled to create a gigantic knight of iron and lime-green steel. This was the Champion of Igknights(8/2800/2300). "By returning one of my Igknights to my hand, he can destroy one monster on the opponents field!" Igknight Gallant was also removed from the field, and its materials were loaded into the Champions rocket-launcher. "My target is none other than the big chief!" Igknight Champion aimed his launcher at Goyo Emperor. "Say cheese, Emperor!"

One stinger missile shot out of the tube and landed right in the Emperors lap, blowing him and his throne to a thousand fragments. "And when the Emperor is gone. His control over all stolen monsters is broken!" Both Infernoid Seitsemas and Sjette were free to return to the side of Stonewells. He could use them all for this battle phase. "So this is it for you! My monsters attack yours, and your lifepoints!" Igknight Champion tackled the Goyo King and the two equally strong monsters destroyed each other. "Direct attack!" The Infernoids and Igknight Cavalier flew to the opponents and bombarded them with hellfire blasts and grenades.

Templar G's LP: 0

 **"DAMAGE CRITICAL. CANCEL OPERATION. SHUTDOWN. RETREAT."** The Templars tried to get away. All they accomplished was crashlanding in the empty streets. _"At least they didn't catch fire."_ Eric thought. Now though they could tend to the unconscious duelist. "Uno! Hey, you with us?" Eric tried to shake him back to consciousness. "Oooh.. my head.." It worked, in a relatively rough manner. "I'm up. I am up." He felt some pain; nothing debilitating. "Great! Well uh.. While you were out, we took care of those two templars for ya!" Eric claimed with pride. "You?" Uno noticed both Erics standing next to each other, without throwing arguments between the two. "Yes. He surprised me. I think I finally see something of my spark in him." Stonewell actually said that with a smile. "Heh. That's my line. Without you, we definitely would be toast. Oh and Adamant helped too I guess." The XYZ-leader had mostly been standing there to see if he had to jump in and help. "Wait.. Then where's.." Only Alice seemed to be absent.

"I'm here." But she did not take long to return, from Uno's point of view. "Alice? What happened?" Uno recognized that look. Alice was unhappy about something. "Nothing.. It's just.. Emily came.. but she's called Amelia. And she ran away from.. us. I followed her, and saw my.. her dad. She's fine but.." She couldn't take it anymore. "I want Emily! I want my mom and dad!" She just buried herself in Uno's chest and started crying. "..." Uno didn't know what to say. His thought that it might have been a mistake to bring her along was not something she needed to hear. "We will." Adamant spoke up. "No matter what it takes. We will stop the Fusion guild. I promise." His words soothed her slightly. "Yes. I promise that too. Even if.." Uno already reached his decision. If it came to it and if it guaranteed the release of Alice and Eric's parents; he would give Phoebe what she wanted. "But.. Amelia's her name now?" That part he didn't get. "Perhaps the timeline split happened during her conception, and her parents decided on a different name. There is no way to be sure. However, we got the information we wanted. We should fall back for now." Adamant did not feel like taking on the actual authorities on this. "Right."

...

"Brother. It is good to See You and your Friends! I heard the News; the Escort malfunctioned. We have no Idea what could have Gone Wrong." Marco did not take long to approach the gang with apologies after Uno teleported them back to the palace garden. "Is that so? What did your Inquisitor have to say?" Somehow Stonewell had his doubts about that. "She claims There were no Traceable errors in the Network. Or were you suggesting She had a part in This? Silver would Never go against You, knowing that you are One of us." Marco swore. "Even so. This was no malfunction. Those drones deliberately attacked Uno and disregarded that seal you gave him. Someone wants him, someone who knew we'd show up there." Adamant had not yet determined who that was. But it could only be a select group of suspects. "Yeah but why not send more?" Eric definitely wouldn't have done as well against four of five of them. "Perhaps that was as Many as They could Control? Whoever They are." Marco suggested. After all, towns usually only had two to three Templars dedicated to them. "Perhaps. Or someone under-estimated my friends." Uno said, happily.

"it is done. i am simply glad you could return again, uno." Anastasia walked in on them "perhaps now you will reconsider staying here, where it is safe." It almost sounded like she was giving an order. But the look of relief on her face seemed genuine. "But what about Em..Amelia.. what about everyone who isn't safe?" The clock was still ticking, they were already ten hours closer to Phoebe's deadline. "We Posted guards around the Town. Real guards, people I Trust with my Life. They will explain what happened to the Brandts and protect them." Marco's words mollified some of Alice's dread, but not all of it. "They can still hurt my dad.. and Eric's mom. Can't we get to them too? We did it before." The pendulum was what brought everyone to the other timeline. It had to work in reverse too. "it is possible for those who fell through time, to reach any place in space that they can imagine." Anastasia's explanation was both good and bad news. "Then I could do it.. if I knew where to go." Even if he could guess where James and Mrs Stonewell were, Uno didn't know what the place looked like. "But..wait.. Alice you do!"

"Huh?" She blinked in confusion. "You said Phoebe showed you a video. She showed you where she kept them! Anastasia? Is that enough?" He was hoping that a description could bring him to where he needed to be. "no. not you. your own eyes did not see it. but.. if she saw the room." The sister tilted her head and plucked the pendulum crystal from her headband. "What are you.. you're giving it to me?" The crystal was dropped in Alice's hands. "you are not from either world. it's not the place that weakens time, it is you.. keep it, and try using it like Uno does. you are more like us than you think and you can help your father and eric's mother better than we can."

(To be Continued in Redux 061: Fallen Through the Looking Glass)

 **New Cards used by Eric Stonewell  
** Infernoid Sjette

 **New Cards used by 'Inferno' Stonewell  
** Igknight Champion

 **New Cards used by TEMPLAR SERIES-G  
** Quickspan Knight  
Bolt Hedgehog  
Junk Synchron  
Junk Breaker

-  
Goyo Chaser  
Goyo Predator

-  
Monster Reborn  
Miracle Synchro Fusion

-  
Imperial Iron Wall  
Scrap-Iron Statue


	30. Fallen Through the Looking Glass

**Redux 61: Fallen Through the Looking Glass**

"We are making no progress." Iria griped as she sat behind a computer. Even the mainframe of this tower could not find a trace of Dom or the Fusion Guild. "I agree." Adamant did not have much luck with his projects either. "The victims of Martel are still not waking up. Bishop is not talking, if he knows anything at all." If Martel usually kept his puppets in card-form, they likely wouldn't know where the guild's base was anyway. "..I am not even sure if I would want Creffield to wake up yet." The disciple sighed, thinking about what Bishop went through. Zach didn't deserve that kind of pain. "What makes you so sure the guild will even have a base here?" If Iria were in Phoebe's shoes, she would have moved as soon as her first attack failed. "They have the gate. It is not an object you can easily relocate. It needs to stand on the same coordinates in both dimensions to work." That was the only reason Adamant assumed Phoebe's people were stationary. "Well it doesn't help us bring us anywhere near her. Especially not if other unknown parties are attacking us. We are running out of time."

"You are." The door to the computer room opened. "Silver." Adamant instinctively reached for his dueldisk. "Oho... I would love to take you on, but I am not here for my jollies." Her smile changed into a scowl. "I _also_ want to know how someone could have tampered with my Templars." In her hands she had a dueldisk, Iria's old dueldisk. "You believe us now?" Iria asked. "I believe that there is a world you know more about than me. However I have the access to all security and surveillance." She handed her counterpart the disk. "...an exchange of information."

...

"Just remember, don't force yourself." That was what Uno told her, before Marco came to fetch him. The 'lord' was there with Alice to see if he could help her use the pendulum. But apparently some sort of official business was going on and that could not be put off anymore. So she had to try it alone for the rest of the day. And she did try, well into the night. It was all she could do while everyone else explored their own options.

"Just use my imagination,.." Uno made it look so simple, he could blink from one side of the hall to the other. "Please..." She held the pendulum crystal firmly and put an image in her head. It wasn't even the room with her parents, she just wanted to see if she could warp into the garden outside her window. But no matter how much she begged, prayed, wished or dreamed; she did not go anywhere. "I know you can do it!" This room she was in, this prestigious palace bedroom, became a detestable sight. It was tiring. Everyone was probably asleep already, she couldn't. "Come on!" The more hope she lost, the stronger her frustration got. "Why!" When it could go no further, she angrily tossed the crystal across the room. At first she wanted to scream. But when she saw the thing bounce against the wall, she immediately crawled to the floor to pick it back up. "No nonono! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to!" It wasn't damaged, thankfully. "I'm..sorry. I know.. It's not you. It's me." She just couldn't do it, she could not use the crystal like _they_ could.

"Huh?" From the corner of her eye, Alice saw something flash by the window. "What was that?" She peered through the glass; a streak of light seemed to shoot across the garden grass like a large firefly. It was an oddly colored light, white, golden and orange. "What..was.. what!?" And that same kind of glow was coming from the pendulum now, faintly but consistently. "I..did.. Something? Maybe?" It was no teleport, it felt more like the crystal was transmitting flickers of energy to the place she envisioned. Or was it some place she had to be? "I..okay." She shoved the window of her room open and climbed outside. There were a dozen templars swarming in the dark clouds above, but they did not seem to notice anything. "I guess it will be okay if I go by myself." Her curiosity overpowered her other senses and climbed out her window into the garden. She let the pendulum guide her; it seemed to grow brighter if she went a certain direction. It only took her a few minutes to get the light as high as it could go. She had reached the endpoint. _"It's that tree again."_ The same thickrooted tree she saw on the first day, was it always this close to her room? _"No.. Not just that tree. It's The Tree!"_

Alice finally realized where she'd seen this before. It was the timeless tree from her old life; her destroyed world. "How?" It was exactly the same; the roots, the branches, the leaves. It looked as young and strong as it did eight years ago. _"Did..they move it here? That doesn't make any sense!"_ It couldn't be here. "Maybe it just looks like it? Yeah that's it!" Alice walked inside the hollow space in between the great roots. "Ah.." Even here it looked the same. This was the spot where she read her favorite books. "This.. this isn't happening." She wanted to turn back, get out and run away. But behind here was nothing but darkness. The pendulums stopped glowing. "No!" She only saw more roots and branches. What should have taken a few retraced steps, only took her deeper and deeper into this 'cave'. "Help! Can someone hear me! I'm lost!" There was nothing above her, only ground below. Ground and wood, the earth was slowly replaced with an even floor. "Planks?" It was getting weirder and weirder. "Ow!" She slammed her head against something. _"Is that.. a door?"_ Her hand found a doorknob. Something turned inwards..

"Good night."

A purple orange glow illuminated what lied beyond the door; light coming from an unknown source. She was inside a large room now, with the walls covered in books, a check-pattern floor replacing the ground, and large roots cracking through the ceiling. "You.." And there was someone to greet her, a woman who sat behind a small round table. "You're one of.. the sisters! Veronica!" It was the one from Uno's visions, the second Prophecy Sister. She was a bit younger than she expected, and her hair was straighter and parted to the side. But the rest of her matched the description. "So you know the story. Good. That saves us a bit of time. Hello Alice Brandt, welcome to our library." Veronica said, all smiles. "How.. Is this a dream?" For all Alice knew, she fell asleep in her bed halfway during her pendulum training. "Ah, wait no! I didn't mean to ask that!" Yet even if this was a dream, there were rules. She remembered Uno's stories very well. "Sorry. No takebacks. This is quite real, to an extent. Our library does not care for the physics of time and space." The sister raised two fingers. "Now there's two questions."

"Why.. why am I here? Why can I see you? What... what do you want?" Alice didn't like this. She thought only Uno could see these people. They may have helped him in the past, but there was just something untrustworthy about them. "I will treat those questions as one entity, since they serve the same subject. Nice of me, isn't it?" Veronica closed her eyes and giggled. "You are here because we can help you. You are trying to unlock a power within the pendulum, a power that transcends dimensions. Just like we do.. You can see me, because you are like me. The present is dearest to you, so I am too. As for what we want? We want to see this power develop. Where does it go? I cannot say; the future is not my division. Allthough I very much appreciate it that you care. Most of time we only get questions that involve the persons own selfish needs and wants." She stated with a deep sigh. "One question remains. Be careful. I do not know how it will end, but three answers are all I have."

"I don't..I don't know what I want.." The girl said with a trembling voice. "You want something. It is as clear as the light of day." The sister insisted. "But.. " Alice thought about what she could ask. However if Veronica could only tell her about the present, that did not leave many options. Alice could request the exact location of her father. But that wouldn't be enough to save him. "I want to help my dad. I want to help Eric's mom. I want to use this crystal." All of her desires focused on the future, on the third sister. She was nowhere to be seen. "How do I save them?" Still, she had to try. "Unfortunately. You cannot ask that yet." Of course Veronica rejected the question. "Yet?" Still, her words left a glimmer of hope. "You are stuck between yesterday and tomorrow. You never look back and you rarely think ahead. That is why you cannot see my sisters, why you cannot ask them. You will have to change that." Veronica told her as she clasped her hands together. "Then I will! Please, let me see them!" Alice pleaded as she pressed her hands on the table. If this was reality, she had to take the chance. "Seeing is one thing.." The second sister mused.

"You found me!" The first sister screeched. "Eeh!" Cloe nearly gave Alice a heart-attack as the girl in white popped up from underneath the table. "Cloe.." It was the youngest of three, or the oldest. In any case, she did not look any different; same sage, same braided hair, same piercing red eyes. "I met you before. You're the one who always ran from me." Cloe rasped and tilted her head. "You tried to get Margots help, didn't you? Well, as my sister said 'you are gonna have to face your past before you can chase your future'." The girl coughed at the end her sentence. "Apologies. That present tense was like poison to my tongue." She wiped away what seemed to be blood from her mouth and grinned. "I... I wont run this time. I want to know." Despite how uncomfortable this girl was making her, she did not move from her spot. "Uno dueled me once." Cloe stated. "..So I have to do the same?" Alice concluded. And Cloe nodded her head. "But not with the cards you used. Not as the duelist you became." Cloe reached inside her hat and pulled out a deck of cards. "As the duelist you were."

"What? These are my.." Alice took the cards and recognized them immediately. "My Mermails!" It was her deck from before the tournament. They weren't recreations either, each card carried that familiar wear and tear. "You must defeat the past with the past. Or else you will never escape the present." Veronica explained as she gave her chair to Cloe. "Oh.. okay. I will!" Alice took her own chair. Oddly, as soon as she sat down, the table seemed to get much bigger. It was as if she shrank inside her chair. "I made some room." Cloe proclaimed as she grabbed her own set of cards. "Now then, we have a duel. Let it begin!" Veronica clapped her hands.

Alice's LP: 8000 Cloe's LP: 8000

Cloe took the first turn, as she always did. She put a green-haired fairy(4/1800/900) in a flowery dress on the table in attack position. "I normal summoned The Spirit of the Fall Wind." Cloe pulled a card from her deck; Prediction Princess Coinorma. "So I could add a flip monster from my deck to my hand with her effect." After that Cloe placed a trap card down.

"My turn?" That was seemingly it for the sister, for now. "Then.." It only felt a little strange to see her Mermail deck again after all this time. But she remembered its ins and outs like it was yesterday. She hadn't put it away either, so how the sisters got a hand on it was a mystery. "I'll activate my field, Lemuria, the Forgotten City." The table was covered with a layer of water that hovered in place. An ancient roman-style city partially rose out of the sea. "And I summon Mermail Abyssturge." A merman lancer(4/1700/1100) with blue ponytailed hair also swam to the surface. The effect of the field spell gave the water monster(1900/1300) additional attack and defense points. "Since he's summoned, he discards one water monster from my hand and takes one back from the graveyard if it has a level of 3 or less." Alice discarded the Atlantean Marksman. As it was a 3rd level monster, Abyssturge could immediately return it to his masters hand. However in between, the effect of the Marksman was activated. "My Atlantean went to the graveyard, so he destroys a face-down card!" Her seaserpent fired an arrow from his crossbow gauntlet, and skewered Cloe's trap card; Changing Destiny. "I also attack your monster." Abyssturge pierced the Spirit of the Fall, who turned to gusts of wind after she died.

Cloe's LP: 7900

"A Pity. I had a whole experiment lined up. But you shot straight through that." Cloe remarked after she put her Changing Destiny card into the graveyard. That trap would have forced Alice to choose between taking damage or giving Cloe more lifepoints. "Uhm.. Sorry?" She sailed around that test this turn. "It happened. We moved on." Now it was Cloe's turn again. She placed a different trap down and set a monster card. "My turn has ended."

"O..kay." Alice continued, cautiously. "I summon Mermail Abysslinde." Abyssturge was joined by the blue-haired merwoman(3/1700/1400) in red armor. "She will attack your set monster." Cloe was difficult to read. However Alice knew what was set face-down at least; the card Cloe added to to her hand last turn. Abysslinde flipped and destroyed Coinorma the sprite-sized coinriding girl(3/800/1400). "You flipped Prediction Princess Coinorma." Coinorma's flip effect allowed the player to set a level 3 or higher flip monster from the deck. One level 5 monster was set. "I have chosen, Prediction Princess Crystaldine." Alice only got a glimpse, which was enough to tell her that she Abyssturge couldn't overpower it. Crystaldine possessed 2200 defense points. Yet Cloe provided her with another target, she flipped her trap: Burst Rebirth. "I've activated Burst Rebirth so I could revive this monster face-down: Coinorma!" The princess of coins was alive and once again face-down.

Cloe's LP: 5900

 _"If I attack it..it will just set another flip monster. But if I don't."_ Coinorma was going to be flipped regardless. It was better to get rid of it while she could. "Abyssturge attacks that card!" Sturge tossed his golden spear into the set monster, destroying Coinorma and triggering her flip effect. This time around, a 4th level flip monster was summoned from the deck. "I've set Prediction Princess Arrowsylph." Whatever that could do, Alice had nothing to attack with anymore. So she placed a trap card down and ended her turn. "You could have done better than that." Cloe admonished her as she now flipped both her monsters. "Instead, you stayed on the predicted path..." The snake-like air spirit Arrowsylph(4/1000/1400) and the jellyfish-like fortune teller Crystaldine(5/1400/2200) took ritual cards from the deck with their flip effects; a ritual spell and monster respectively. "When Arrowsylph was flipped, I added Prediction Ritual to my hand. When Crystaldine was flipped I claimed Prediction Princess Tarotrei." Tarotrei was a level 9 ritual monster, and Cloe controlled that exact amount of levels. "This is what you allowed!" Cloe activated Prediction Ritual.

Cloe activated Prediction Ritual. "!" A stone altar parted the Lemurian sea. Torches around a coffin lit up, as the Princesses of wind and water; Crystaldine and Arrowsylph; were sacrificed at the altar. The coffin lid opened; Prediction Princess Tarotrei, the holy priestess(9/2700/1200) rose from her sleep. Her eyes were glowing red, her hair and dress long and dark, and around her shoulders were two wing-like contraptions which extended into a pair of animate doll arms. "You use rituals too?" Alice was surprised, as she was unfamiliar with these cards. It was clear that she was not using her Ghostricks anymore, but she figured Cloe was an XYZ-duelist. "For you I chose this. This is the power you wanted for your future, I deemed it appropriate as your appraiser." Cloe gestured at Mermail Abyssturge with her hand, pretending to crush its head with her fingers. "I have chosen my target." Tarotrei used its extra arms to pick up the male Mermail and crush it into a fine powder. "Aah!" The visual was more visceral than Alice expected.

Alice's LP: 7200

"I suggest you do not take it slow, Alice." Veronica interjected. "You are not fighting just the past, but the present as well. Because that is where you are, at all times. Right now you face Tarotrei. Her powers allow her to flip the position of one monster each turn." Tarotrei pointed her actual hands at Mermail Abysslinde and twisted them around. The Mermail followed the act by flipping herself face-down. "And when Cloe's turn ends, Tarotrei may also summon one flip monster in face-down defense position." Cloe set down a monster and a trap. During her endphase, the ritual princess pulled another monster from the depths and placed it flat on the waterbed. Cloe had chosen to revive Coinorma. "What are you.. saying?" Alice asked, thinking it was okay to give her questions if she was bringing up the subject. "Simply that we only record time, we do not control it. We cannot stop it. While you are dueling here, your friends continue their acts outside. You are getting closer to your answer, a way to save your father. But.." Her voice trailed off. "But what? Why are you even telling me this?" They wouldn't be this liberal with their information. "Is... someone in danger?" Unless it was another game to test her.

They gave no response. "You.. won't just tell, will you?" She would have to keep playing their game. "I.." She drew.. a very potent card. "I discard special summon Mermail Abyssmegalo!" A discard of two water-monsters (Atlantean Marksman & Dragoon) was the price for summoning the great red shark warrior(7/2400/1900). If Megalo was called out with his own effect, he would also search the deck for one Abyss spell or trap card. "I put Abysscale of the Kraken in my hand!" Alice selected an equip-spell in this case. At the same time, thanks to the effects of the discarded Atlantean Marksman. She could destroy the face-down Prediction Princess Coinorma. Atlantean Dragoons on the other hand added a new seaserpent in her deck, Mermail Abyssocea, to her hand. "Ah. The fearsome Abyssmegalo. That card acquired some emotional value with you, didn't it?" Cloe stared the beast and his master down with her bright red eyes. "Huh? Because of Uno?" This was the card she almost lost to the guilds. Uno won it back for her. "It strengthened your connection with the wayward son, Uno. Your duels have always been linked to his, one way or another."

"Even now." Veronica added. "Now?" Alice flinched. "This is..about Uno?!" Was he the one in danger? "A decision lies before you, Alice. You cannot see it yet. But it lies between what you call your family.. and who you call your friend. My guess is, only one can be saved. The choice is up to you."

(To be Continued in Redux 060: Pool of Tears)

 **New Cards used by Alice Brandt  
** Atlantean Marksman

-  
Lemuria the Forgotten City

 **New Cards used by Cloe  
** Spirit of the Fall Wind  
Prediction Princess Coinorma  
Prediction Princess Arrowsylph  
Prediction Princess Crystaldine  
Prediction Princess Tarotrei

-  
Prediction Ritual

-  
Changing Destiny  
Burst Rebirth


	31. Pool of Tears

**Redux 60: Pool of Tears**

Alice's LP: 7200 Cloe's LP: 5900

"Uno.." While she was dueling the voice of the past, the present offered the real threat. "You want me to choose between him.. and my family? I can't do that! Nobody could!" Veronica spoke of a danger hanging above Uno's head. And if _she_ was mentioning it, it had to be taking place right now. Yet Alice was trapped here. "But you could, and you did. Were you not the one to suggest to Uno that you and he just leave behind the old world and settle for this one?" Cloe meanwhile could perfectly cite moments that had already happened. Moments Alice was ashamed of. "That was different. I was scared, I didn't know what I was saying! You can't make me choose! I just..I want to help them both!" She did not have time to waste, she needed to attack now. On her field was Mermail Abyssmegalo(7/2600/1800), powered up by her water-themed field spell Lemuria. In her hand was Abysscale of the Kraken. If she could activate that spell, she could negate the effects of Cloe's ritual priest; Prediction Princess Tarotrei(9/2700/1200) this turn. "You were too late, again." But Cloe hit the table and activated the effect of Tarotrei to flip Abyssmegalo into a defensive position.

"Ah.. no." Megalo card could not be returned to attack position. However her face-down Mermail Abysslinde(4/1700/1200) could. But even with the equip spell, it wouldn't have enough attackpower to defeat the Princess. "I attack your other monster!" Abysslinde would have to contend with whatever was face-down. The mermaid dove underneath the surface and grabbed Cloe's set monster, dragging it down into the sea. "You flipped Prediction Princess Astromorrigan." Of course this card, a clock-faced battle maiden(3/1300/0), carried her own flip effect. "You doomed all your face-down monsters." During the endphase, Astromorrigan's lingering effect would destroy each defending card, and inflict 500 points of damage per death. "Then.. Abyssmegalo." One of her monsters was already prepared for destruction. "I..end my turn." She could not stop it. "No. More." Cloe flipped her trap card; Reverse Reuse. "With this trap, I have brought two of my prediction princesses, to your field. Face-down." Crystaldine and Arrowsylph were sitting right before Alice now. "Three?" All three defenders were destroyed as the astral clock struck twelve. "Eek!" The trio of blasts shook the Lemurian city and harmed her lifepoints.

Alice's LP: 5700

"And so died that which linked you to Uno. Allthough you wouldn't care, you severed ties with that card long ago." Cloe chided her while she drew the next card from her deck. "What? I didn't want to! I had to do it, and he helped me with it!" Cloe was talking about the Nekroz; how they replaced Alice's original deck during the tournament. "Yet you did not return once it was no longer asked of you to use those cards. They were discarded just like everything else in your past." The girl in white was beginning to sound angered. "You did not love them." Wordlessly, she commanded Tarotrei to attack Mermail Abysslinde and kill her with a wave of psychic energy.

Alice's LP: 4700

"That's not true! I liked all of them!" Alice activated Abysslinde's effect. As she was destroyed, the Mermail could summon another Mermail from her deck. "I hated throwing them away! I kept some. But... I had to get stronger!" Abysslinde special summoned Mermail Abyssbalaen the massive whale warrior(7/2700/2200) in attack mode. It was a card not many duelists bothered with when putting together a Mermail deck. "You started seeing the monsters as tools, like most. You knew better." Cloe continued. She placed two trap cards face-down and activated an effect from her graveyard. "I banished Prediction Ritual. So one Prediction Princess could be placed in my hand." The banished ritual spell took the Prediction Princess Petal Elf card and Cloe set it down at Tarotrei's left. "My turn has ended." During the endphase, Tarotrei used its own effect to reset Prediction Princess Astromorrigan face-down on the field.

"No. I know they are more. I just.." Alice shivered. There was one dreadful reason she knew. "You didn't want to remember." The guardians of time that destroyed her world, they were a part of the game. Iria's Qliphorts shared their appearance, and that was no coincidence. "Even your Nekroz, your Mermails. They had stories." Cloe kicked the floor with her foot, causing several books to fall out of their shelves. "I know that too! That's why I.. chose the Nekroz. They were survivors.. their story was... not happy. And nobody wanted to use them." Nobody looked forward to new ritual monsters, not until Dom got Alice to promote them at least. "But I did not forget anything! And I wont forget about Uno either!" She couldn't keep talking back and forth with her opponent. Alice activated the Abysscale of Cetus, equipping the spell to Abyssbalaen(7/3500/2200) to raise its attackpoints. "I summon Abyssocea!" Mermail Abyssocea the blonde seanymph(4/1300/2100) flew into the bay of the Forgotten City. Ocea was equipped with an Abyss-scale of Kraken spell card, which raised the monster's(1700/2100) attackpoints too, but less so. "Abyssbalaen attacks Princess Tarotrei!"

Cloe rested her face on one hand and tapped her ritual monster. "Tarotrei." The princess attempted to flip Abyssbalaen face-down. "I can negate her effect!" Alice unequipped the Abyss-scale of Kraken from AbyssOcea(1300/2100), which resulted in a monsters effect being blocked. "..Black Cat-astrophe." Cloe yawned and flipped one of her traps with her free hand. "I set two monsters, so I could activate this trap." Black Catastrophe would end the battle phase, by sending a swarm of black cats out against the whale and oceanid mermails. "I can stop that too!" Alice removed Abyss-scale of Cetus from Abyssbalaen(2700/2200). This Abyss-equipspell could negate the effects of traps like the Catastrophe card. "You could. And I knew you would." Cloe tipped over her other trap card. "Desert Sunlight. The flip effects of all monsters I set." Desert Sunlight switched her monsters positions. ".. have been switched on." Tarotrei moved to defense mode. The flipped Prediction Princess Astromorrigan restarted the countdown towards destruction. A new Prediction Princess, a flower-dress and petal-haired fairy(3/800/700), spread her petals across the table. "Ah no." Abyssbalaen and Abyssocea were switched to defense mode. "Petal Elf changed all my enemies from attack to defense."

"But I.." Alice tried to move Abyssbalean back into attack position. But even though he hadn't been summoned this turn, she could get him to budge. "The switches are irreversible?" Petal Elf made the Mermails defend, permanently. "I..I.. I can't! I won't lose! I'm gonna use Lemuria's effect to raise the level of my water monsters by one star for each water monster on the field!" Alice's field spell affected Abyssbalean(9/2700/2200) and Abyssocea(5/1700/2100), setting up the next stage of her plan. "And AbyssOcea can sacrifice one of my monsters to special summon level 4 or lower Mermails from my deck, if their combined levels are the same or less as the tribute! I'll tribute Abyssbalaen!" The seanymph sent her energy into the whale, causing him to release nine stars of light. "I summon the Mermails Abyssdine, Abysshilde and Abyssgunde!" The stars flew into Alice's deck. Each trio special summoned their own Mermail; Hilde(3/1500/600) the eel girl, Gunde(3/1600/1000) the clownfish mermaid and Dine(3/1200/400) the little sea angel. Abyssbalean died in the wake of the effect.

"I will.. I will overlay them!" Now came the final step. By placing all of these on top of each other, Alice could perform an XYZ-summon. "I need three level 3 monsters for Mermail Abysstrite!" The purple-haired queen(3/1600/2800) of the Mermails appeared in attack position. "You remembered that you owned that card?" Cloe looked actually perplexed for once. Abysstrite had always been in Alice's possession, since it came with the structure deck that her parents bought for her. Yet this was the first time she summoned it ever. "You wanted to see if I would, didn't you?" Her dislike of extra deck cards was no secret to anyone who knew her. It definitely wasn't unknown to these allseeing sisters. "Sometimes.. you just have to change something, to let go of something. If you want to become better." That loathing was something she was trying to correct now. "I end my turn!" During the endphase, only AbyssOcea fell to Astromorrigans curse. The nymph died and Alice lost 500 lifepoints.

Alice's LP: 4200

"That is true." Veronica cut in while she was still resting on her sofa. "But many desire the gift you have; the ability to forget and move on. You are learning, but you are selective in that. You choose what makes you feel better. Uno is part of that." She claimed. "I just thought.. Uno was like me." Alice could not refute her point. "And he is. But he is the reason you are in this new perfect world. Your love for him is based on what he can do for you."

"And what he has done." By now Cloe was banishing cards from her graveyard again. "I banished Black Cat-astrophe. One monster on each side of the field was flipped as a result." The girl slammed down on the table. Prediction Princess Astromorrigan and Mermail Abysstrite switched to face-down position. Promptly, Cloe flipped the clockfaced princess back face-up, sealing Abysstrite's own doom in one turn. She did not keep it at that. "You placed one field spell on your side of the table. Therefor I was able.." Cloe activated a quickplay spell, Pop-Up. "To use mine." Pop-up could activate field spells from a players deck, when their opponent already controlled one of their own. Like a pop-up book, the inside of dilapidated mansion surrounded the Lemurian waters. "Ghostrick Mansion?" This was an unexpected cameo from Cloe's previous deck, the second of Ghostrick field spells. "Even if they aren't Ghostricks, all monsters can attack directly now when you have nothing face-up." Veronica helpfully explained why suddenly all three of the Prediction Princess were flying around Alice. Ghostrick Mansion did halve the damage, but it would still hurt.

"Abyss Squall!" Fortunately, Alice could finally use her trap card now. "My trap special summons three Mermails from my graveyard, with their effects negated!" The sea unleashed a turbulent wave that swept across the forgotten city and the haunted mansion. Mermail Abyssturge(4/1900/1300), Abysslinde and Abyssbalaen(7/2700/2200) all popped back up from the depths, face-up and well. "You always were skilled at surviving. None denied that." Cloe's direct attacks were disabled now. And she couldn't compete with Abyssbalaen in a fight. "That was the battle phase." Still, the monsters revived by Abyss Squall could not use their effects and would be destroyed during the endphase. There was not much reason for Cloe to act. The sister moved towards the end of her turn and reactivated the effects of Prediction Princess Tarotrei. Petal Elf was flipped back to a face-down position. Prediction Princess Coinorma was special summoned from the graveyard and also placed face-down. And Astromorrigan's destruction would claim all enemies within moments.

"Sorry. But I need a little more of your turn." That was when Alice opened up with a slew of her cards and effects. A trap card sounded it off. "I'll use Aqua mirror Cycle! I recycle two water monsters by sending one I control back!" The Mirror cycled Abyssturge from the field into the deck and Atlantean Dragoons and Mermail Abyssmegalo from the graveyard into Alice's hand. "My other monsters will die now, but.." Balaen and Linde were destroyed by Abyssquall's drawback. Abysstrite was blown up by Astromorrigan's countdown reaching zero, costing Alice 500 lifepoints. "Their effects will activate now too!" With Abysslinde destroyed once more, another Mermail was special summoned from the main deck. With Abysstrite destroyed, a Mermail from the graveyard could return to the field. And with the attached Mermail Abysshilde sent to the graveyard, a Mermail could be special summoned from Alice's hand.

Alice's LP: 3700

Alice resolved Abysslinde's effect first and summoned a muscular merman(4/1800/1000) "Mermail Abysspike! Because he's special summoned, I can trade one water monster in my hand, for one level 3 or lower water monster in my deck!" Alice discarded Atlantean Dragoons. "And you already know what I can do with Dragoons!" Abysspike placed an Atlatean Heavy Infantry monster in Alice's hand. The Dragoons own effect gave her a Mermail Abyssteus card. "Then Abysshilde!" The 'death' of Hilde made her bring back Mermail Abyssmegalo; Alice's most precious card. "And I will end with Abysstrite's effect!" The dying queen chose to revive Mermail Abyssdine(3/1200/400) in this instance. "When Abyssdine is special summoned, she can summon one level 3 or lower Mermail from my graveyard too!" The sea angel spread her arms and opened a hole in the sea. Thanks to her, Mermail Abysshilde could reach the field again. Instead of an empty field, Alice controlled a field of four monsters.

".. I don't want to run. Not anymore!..I didn't want to run to begin with. When I was younger I only thought about who I could be and what I could do when I grew up. I was wasting time in my own head. But then.. it happened. I lost everything. I thought.. I was going to die..." She swallowed a lump in her throat. "That's why.. I didn't want to look back.. or forward. I just wanted to enjoy it, as it happened. I survived.. Everyone else would want me to live happily, right?" Alice took her turn, drawing a card. "You are not going to make me feel bad about that! You can't!" She activated the summoning effect of Mermail Abyssteus in her hand. By discarding a water-monster, Atlantean Heavy Infantry, she could special summon the prehistoric fish-warrior Abyssteus(7/1700/2400). "I destroy Tarotrei! Since the Heavy Infantry was sent to the graveyard for a water-monsters effect!" The discarded atlanteans swam through the depths to strike the Princess from below. "We didn't make you feel bad. You already did that on your own." But in the last few seconds, Tarotrei charged her own power. "What?"

 _"They're... right?"_ Time slowed to a crawl. Her thoughts blazed past her like a thunderstorm. _"Is it my fault? Do I really think that?"_ She carried memories of her blaming herself for everything; for what happened to her real family, why the timelines split and the worlds got messed up, why Emily was in danger, why her father was captured, why she couldn't even use the pendulum. But she was not the cause. _"Some things, you just can't control. Some you can. It's easier to say that destiny did it and it is also easy to say that you deserve it. That I deserve it.. I get it now, though. It doesn't matter. It still happened. If I don't accept that, nothing will change."_ She was the last one. _"It does not have to be my weakness.."_ The pendulum, it was still in her pocket. _"I know what I can do."_ The light came back to the crystal. "Tarotrei wont get to flip anyone!" Alice activated a quickplay spell from her hand. "Forbidden Chalice negates it!" A holy maiden poured water from her chalice down on the seer of darkness, blocking her magical powers while strengthening her physical body(3100/1200). More power made no difference, because she still died to Heavy Infantry's effect.

"I know what my answer is!" Alice's turn was just beginning. "When Abyssteus is summoned by his own effect, I get a seaserpent monster from my deck!" She pulled the Spined Gillman from her deck. "And I activate Abyssmegalo's effect!" A water monster in attack position, Mermail Abyssdine, was tributed; swallowed by the shark warrior. "Now he can attack twice this turn. And.. I normal summon Spined Gillman!" With the blue spike-backed fishman(3/1500/200) on the field, all fish, seaserpent and aqua-type monsters would gain 400 attackpoints. "Cloe, I also know how this is going to end. I have to attack Astromorrigan first." Mermail Abyssgunde(2000/1000) jumped at the astral princess doll and broke her into several pieces.

Cloe's LP: 5550

"And now.. you only have face-down monsters." The Ghostrick Mansion field affected both players and halved all damage. However it also allowed Alice to just bypass Coinorma and Petal Elf. "So.. my next five attacks are on you, miss Cloe!" Spined Gillman(1900/200) and the Mermails Abysspike(2200/1000), Abyssteus(2300/2600) and AbyssMegalo(3000/2100) cut through the sea, walked into the mansion and circled around the girl of the past. "So they were." Cloe took five attacks, two from Abyssmegalo and three from the other monsters. It all added up to 12400 points of battle damage, which was enough to defeat Cloe even with the damage halved. "You won."

Cloe's LP: 0

"Then what is your answer? What is your question?" With the duel concluded, the table shrank back to its original size and Veronica moved back to stand besides her sister. "You used up two, but you have earned the right to ask any of us.. the third." As soon as Cloe spoke the last words, the library got very very quiet. Something killed the ambient noise of the roots, candles and books. "I know.." Alice could not feel the presence of the third sister. She could only guess that she was somewhere close now. "I know what you were trying to do. You have to give out answers, but you distract people from knowing too much.." She could ask them anything. But the one thing she truly wanted was something she needed to get on her own. The only thing she wanted to know was, if she could still do it. "Is there still time left, to get to them both?"

"Hmm." Veronica closed her eyes and nodded. Cloe in turn turned around and stared into the darkness. "She said that there's still time. But less for your friends.. than for your family."

"Then I know enough. Thanks." Alice took the pendulum crystal from her pocket. "Wait, wait, wait. You're leaving without a goodbye present? After all you went through? A duel does more than test your mind after all. Just ask Uno." Veronica walked over to the bookcases. "Huh? What? You mean you're going to give me a new card, like you did for him?" When Uno defeated Cloe, he was rewarded with a card that didn't exist yet. "I can tell you 'no'. Uno can use the spirits as they are and reshape them, He can channel the pendulums magic into the cards. You are not there yet. What we can do is give you one of our old stories, spirits that nobody in this world remembers." She tossed a book over to Cloe, who caught it with one hand. "You've proven that your ties to the past didn't disappear. The spirits would be honored if you would continue their story." She opened the book to reveal hundreds of choices, from XYZ-cards to fusions. "Oh.. Then.." Luckily, Alice knew what she wanted from the get-go. She placed her finger on one image. "It shall be done. Now go and save your friend.." Alice bowed. "I will!" And she took the crystal and teleported away.

(To be Continued in Redux 059: Mixing Night with Day)

 **New Cards used by Alice Brandt  
** Mermail AbyssOcea  
Mermail Abyssdine

-  
Mermail Abysstrite

-  
Abyss-scale of the Cetus  
Abyss-scale of the Kraken

-  
Abyssquall

 **New Cards used by Cloe  
** Prediction Princess Astromorrigan  
Prediction Princess PetalElf

-  
Pop-Up  
Ghostrick Mansion

-  
Reverse Reuse  
Black Cat-astrophe  
Desert Sunlight


	32. Mixing Night with Day

**Redux 59: Mixing Night with Day**

It couldn't be out off anymore, the Lord declared. One day for resting was acceptable, but now was the time for Uno to learn about his world. Once Marco stole him away from Alice, he was brought to the wardrobe to receive the proper attire; a regal orange and blue uniform that would fit a duke or earl. After that it was time for the 'throne room' and the official introduction to the court of Millennium. There were a lot of people there, all of them shocked and surprised to see what had happened to 'Christopher'. Uno didn't recognize a single one of them either. A lot of names were dropped on him. There were heads of security, keepers of the treasury, ministers in almost every societal area. Uno wasn't sure if he could even remember them all, though nobody expected him to do so right away. They were all very careful when talking to him. After that came the technical details, the day-to-day meetings and discussions. He tried to follow the topics that were raised; the new guests, the other dimension and the supposed invasion. Apparently the Union'd known about the other world for quite some time, but only to to the top of the hierarchy. None though claimed any awareness of temporal degradation or whatever you would call it. They treated it like just any other ordinary subject. The rest of their talk went in one ear and out the other.

A full tour of the entire tower followed, which all brought him back to his own room. Uno didn't see any of his friends the whole time. "Anastasia. Is this really what we should be doing?" Uno never felt comfortable throughout any of this. He'd rather just do what he did before he met her and Marco; dueling to make people happy directly. "you said the same before, when you were.. younger. today was necessary, to see if something would reawaken inside you. it has not, has it?" Anastasia looked at him "I'm sorry." He shook his head. "you were always more a knight than a king. i suppose that would make me the princess. it used to be all three of us who attended the court. but our brother has done well alone." Marco was still overseeing matters right now in fact. "but we can act on that tomorrow. i will see you then, Uno." Anastasia bade him farewell and retreated to her own section of the palace. "Yeah. See you." And he was left with his room and his thoughts; old and new. He let out a sigh. _"Uno.. what if you wanted to run away from all of this?"_

The day exhausted him more than he realized; Uno dozed off a scant number of minutes after he chose to rest a little on his bed. That was an hour or so before midnight fell, and it was peaceful for the next three hours. By that time he was in too deep a sleep to be disturbed by little sounds.. like locks opening and doors creaking. A shape entered the lords bedroom, silently and smoothly. It moved about the place like a shadow, clinging to every wall and poking at every opening. It was looking for something, something that could not be found between the shelves of his bookcase or the drawers of his cupboard. "Nuh.." Uno made a noise. The intruder froze until it became clear that Uno was just stirring in his sleep. The lord moved to lie on his back, and exposed the glistening pendulum crystal on his body. There was the treasure, the shadow's long fingers stretched out to it. They carefully snapped the cord that kept it around Uno's neck and pulled the pendulum away. The shadow got part of what it wanted...

...and for reasons it did not understand, the crystal was glowing.

"UNO!" Alice shouted the second she saw what was going on. The girl appeared out of nowhere, positioned in the doorway with a crystal that glowed like Uno's. "Huh what?! Alice?!" Uno woke up on the spot. "What the.. who are you?" He saw the shadow vaguely, outlined by the light coming in from the hallway. "Uno! He took your pendulum!" Alice yelled again. "He did what?" Uno reached for his bare throat. It wasn't there. It was in this strangers hands. "Hey!" The thief saw a chance. It ran towards the window and smashed it open with a disk-blade. It had a dueldisk. "No!" Uno chased after him, but the thief jumped off the balcony already and landed in the garden. "He's getting away!" The shadow was almost out of sight. There were no Templars in sight to stop him. That was odd in itself, but Uno didn't have time to question that. "No he's not!" That was when Alice grabbed Uno's hand, closed her eyes and engulfed the two in a bright flash.

"What!?" The shadow finally uttered a word, of dismay, as his pursuers suddenly flashed into existence right before him. "Alice.. what.." Uno looked at the girl, who was beaming with delight. "You know how to use it?" That was a teleport! "Yup! Ehr uhm.." Realizing she was still holding his hand, Alice quickly pulled hers back. "Yeah! All I had to do was stop thinking I couldn't do it! And then it let me flash wherever!" Thanks to the crystal, she showed up just in time in front of Uno's room. It was fortunate that the door had been opened beforehand, since she never actually saw the inside of Uno's chamber. "How did you know?" Uno was happy she did show up, but it was unusually good timing of her. "They told me! The prophecy sisters!" She revealed. "The.. those three? You met them?" Uno could barely believe it. Why would they talk to Alice? "Never mind that for now." There was a more pressing dilemma. "Who are you? Why did you take my pendulum?"

"Kgh." The thief's escape had been ruined, it knew that. "You want this?" Her voice was clearly femine, and her hooded and cloaked figure was more visible under the light of the moon. They couldn't see her face however. "You will have to duel me for it, Lord Christopher." She carried cards on her person, along with the previously noticed dueldisk. It appeared to be union model. "Uno. Do you want me too.." Alice didn't have a dueldisk on her, but she could get one right now if she wanted too. "No. I'm good." But Uno always kept his cards close. "But what if I refuse? That pendulum belongs to me rightfully." Uno wondered if he could stall for time. Security would show up eventually. "Then I will shatter it." She punctuated her threat by letting the crystal fall to the ground and then stepping on it. "Ah!" Alice gasped. The crystal was not damaged yet, thankfully. "Ugh. You made your point." Uno activated his dueldisk. "I do not know who you are, but I'm affraid you're going to regret this night either way." Who did she work for? She could talk, so she was not one of Martels pawns. He would find out, one way or another. He was in his element now. "Duel!"

?'s LP: 8000 Uno's LP: 8000

Uno got the first turn. "I'll set one monster, and one trap!" He would stay on the defense for now. "... My turn then." The hooded woman drew her next card and summoned it. "Sapphire Pegasus." A crystal-horned unicorn(4/1800/1200) flew in on wings with sapphires. Thanks to its effect, another Crystal Beast could be placed on the field.. as a spell card. "Topaz Tiger." A pure topaz gem appeared in the spell zone, even though it was a monster card. "She uses Crystal Beasts!" Sapphire Pegasus and Cobalt Eagle belonged to a very classic theme, there was no way Alice wouldn't recognize them. "And.. Crystal Vanguard!" Except, as it turned out, the Beasts got a slight upgrade in recent times. "A pendulum?" Uno was shocked to see his opponent set a pendulum monster in the red zone. Crystal Vanguard (scale 5) the crystal-haired and masked guardian was not a Beast, but as a spell card it did protect all Beasts against targeting effects. Ironic, if one considered the Crystal Beasts to the first form of spell-monsters. "The Pegasus attacks the set card." The battle began.

Her sapphire unicorn galloped towards Uno's monster and crushed it. "Aha!" Just what the doctor ordered. "You destroyed Performapal Parrotrio! Now they will special summon a performapal of the not-pendulum variety from my deck!" The trio of parakeets(3/500/500) sang their heavy melody to introduce the strongest performer Uno could go with,.. "Performapal Elephammer!" ..the hammer-trunk elephant(6/2600/1800). "Hmph." The thief placed two trap cards in her spell/trap zone. "Make your move then!" She goaded him. "Oh that's gotta be a trick." Alice did not like the look of that field at all. "Same. But don't worry. Elephammer here can return all spells and traps to the players hand when he attacks." Uno could even scare away that Topaz Beast with this effect. "And to make sure she doesn't try anything beforehand. I will back him up with Performapal Fireflux!" A literal lightbulb firefly(4/1200/1600) fluttered out of Uno's hand and landed on the elephants back. "No traps or spells can be activated when Fireflux is around during a Performapals attack!"

"And now for my final trick! Don't really know when Crystal Beasts got their pendulums on, but I have been doing this since the beginning, lady. So.. let me show you how its done!" Uno placed Performapal Guitartle (scale 6) in one pendulum zone and Performapal SelShell Crab (scale 2) in the other. "Guitartle lets me draw one card each time a pendulum performapal is set in another pendulum zone!" Uno drew one card. "With their scales I can summon this level 3 monster from my hand; Timebreaker Magician!" A young battlemage(3/1400/0) with a black collared cloak shot down in a single bolt of energy. "When Timebreaker is the only card pendulum summoned from my hand, he can double his own attackpoints!" The Mage spun his sword around a full 360 degrees to accelerate his own time. His(2800/0) power was twice as high at this speed. "That one's nice.. did you make it?" Alice hadn't seen this Magician before. "Yeah. Well, Anastasia gave me some pointers." His sister wanted him to have more options for his new synchro card. "Oh. Okay." Alice was not sure why she felt weirded out by that. "Now then, where were we? Oh yeah!" Uno moved to his battle phase. "You talk too much." And the thief flipped one of her trap cards. "Wha?"

 _Crystal Seal, Continuous Trap  
_ _Target 1 monster your opponent controls. The target cannot attack, be Tributed, change its battle position or activate its effect(s)._ _  
_ _If the ATK or DEF of the target changes, destroy this card._ _This card is unaffected by your opponent's card effects._

"I'll seal your big beast." A prison of ice and crystal grew around Elephammer. It could not move against anyone while it was entombed within this solid block. "Too blunt for your tastes? In that case..." Uno attacked her Crystal Pegasus with Timebreaker Magician. The mage's sword cut off the beasts horn and shattered its body. "Trap card, Crystal Hoard." The woman now revealed her second trap. "Each turn a Crystal Beast dies, one more can be special summoned from my deck." While Sapphire Pegasus was reduced to its gem-form and moved to a spell zone; the fate of all destroyed Crystal Beasts, a smaller red gem took his place. "Ruby Carbuncle." The Hoard trap released a four-eared catdog like creature(3/300/300). On its tail and forehead was the ruby gem, and it burned with a fiery glow. "Ruby Carbuncle is summoned, so all Crystal Beast spells will return to their original selves!" The white Topaz Tiger(4/1600/1000) and Sapphire Pegasus spells were summoned to the monster zone in defense mode. As Sapphire Pegasus was summoned again, it could place a new Crystal as a spell card. Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle was chosen. "Was that it?"

?'s LP: 7000

"..Almost. I have one more attack!" Performapal Fireflux flew away from the crystallized elephammer and bumped into the Ruby Carbuncle beast to destroy it. "That was it." The Carbuncle died and left its Ruby behind in the spell/trap zone. "Hmph. You're not too bright either." This was exactly what the enemy needed, which she made quite clear with her next spell. "Rare Value. I draw two cards, but you must send one of my two Crystal spells to the graveyard." She wouldn't have been able to use this drawing spell if Uno left Ruby Carbuncle alone. "Oh. I guess the Carbuncle then." At least he could get rid of that little beast for good. "Very well." The red gem shattered and the thief drew twice. "Uno. Maybe I should get more people? I mean, I don't think you'll lose but.." Alice whispered to him. "It can't hurt. But I don't think we'll find anyone." Most of the 'nocturnal' workers were many many floors above them. "I can.." She took her crystal. "Wait, Alice. I didn't.." She flashed away, just like that. She was getting pretty good at it. Uno did not know if the crystal would keep up with her, or if she would tire herself out.

"Pendulum." The thief grunted. "Not a fan? I can tell. Why do you want mine anyway?" Whoever she was, she did not seem that interested in Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. So was this another party besides the fusion guild? "I owe you no explanations... Crystal Vanguard." This time the woman normal summoned her pendulum guardian(3/1300/1000). "Amethyst Cat." The monster effect of the Vanguard was one that involved a selftribute and a Crystal Beast search. She added the amethyst cat beast to her hand this time, by tributing Crystal Vanguard. "Crystal Hoard returns my Sapphire and your Elephant." There was one more effect to Crystal Hoard as well. The trap sent itself to the graveyard to bounce back a Crystal Beast and an opponents monster. "If she's putting Pegasus back then.." Uno figured out what was coming, his skin was tingling. "You are not the only one anymore. Uno." The thief placed a monster in the other pendulum zone, a gold-haired masked swordsman (scale 2). "Crystal Protector!" This one owned a spell effect that made all Crystal Beasts indestructible as far as effects mattered. "PENDULUM SUMMON!"

Between the Vanguard and Protector, four different colors materialized. The tributed Crystal Protector was resummoned from the extra deck while the Crystal Beasts Amethyst Cat(3/1200/400), Amber Mammoth(4/1700/1600) and Sapphire Pegasus were summoned from her hand. "Emerald Tortoise!" With the effect of the Pegasus, the seventh and last Crystal Beast left the deck. An emerald shell was activated as a spell besides the cobalt gem. "And.. finally.." Crystal Protector turned himself into a tribute for the second time this turn. Only now it was going after a bigger fish. Its effect could not just search Crystal Beasts, but also Crystal Gods. "I add the Ultimate Crystal God, Rainbow Dragon, to my hand!" The crystals of seven colors all served one lord. This dragon could only be special summoned when the player had all seven Crystal Beasts on her field and/or in her graveyard." Seven.." Amber, Amethyst, Cobalt, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Topaz; the whole gang was here. "I summon Rainbow Dragon!" And so was the mighty dragon god(10/4000/0). Its angelic white wings folded outwards and made the moon behind it disappear.

"Die." All five monsters swarmed down on Uno's small troupe. Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger gained 400 attackpoints during its(2000/1000) attack with its own effect and slaughtered the Fireflux insect. And Rainbow Dragon utterly decimated TimeBreaker with a beam of white light. "I activate the effect of my Performapal! When one of my monsters dies, Selshell Crab can summon one card in my pendulum zone to the field! And I am going with the Crabmeister himself!" The hermit landlord crab rolled out of the pendulum zone and moved itself in a defensive position to shield Uno from further attacks. "Heh. Then Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat will attack directly!" The purple gem feline could halve its own damage output, but in return it could sneak around Sellshell Crab and swipe at Uno directly. "Egh..eh?" Uno did not feel the slash though. "Oh right, solid vision dampeners."

Uno's LP: 5400

"Still a fool." The mystery woman called of her remaining attacks. In her second main phase she activated the field spell, Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins, and placed another trap card down. "Huh. You're reminding me of someone..." Uno looked at his hand before playing his next card; the Performapal Recasting spell card. The card shuffled Elephammer back into his deck and drew two new cards. At the same time he checked the network for information on these new crystal pendulums. "Huh. Mind telling me how you have cards that aren't for sale yet?" There weren't many groups who could acquire such cards. "Look who is talking." One group was Uno and his family of course. "Yeah yeah. You got me there." Uno said as he normal summoned Tuning Magician(1/0/0). "?" The summoned magician reduced his lifepoints by 400 and gave 400 lifepoints to the opponent. "Didn't see that coming? Interesting. It's like you've seen me duel before. Or at least you know that my deck didn't have this card until yesterday." This woman didn't seem to question Alice's appearance either. "If you have pendulum cards of your own too, then you must own something that makes them. Like a printer.." That narrowed down the list of choices to two. The fusion guild or.. "Like the one the Synchro Guild had." Or Cassius' friends. "Stop me if I am getting too close."

Uno's LP: 5000 ?'s LP: 7400

...

"Adamant, Iria! Can anyone hear me?" That was the problem with looking for people when you could only teleport to places you were familiar with. This place was just so big. The best Alice could do was go back to everyone's sleeping quarters and hope that someone was still around. Eric was a stone-solid sleeper unfortunately "Hey? Don't you know how late it is?" Stonewell on the other hand did not inherit that trait. "I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to go! Uno's fighting someone who stole his pendulum!" She said with a trembling voice. "Uno? They're after him again? Here?" That got him wide awake. "I know what to do.." Stonewell glanced around his room and spotted an red switchbox against the wall. "I noticed a lot of these..'silent alarms'" He pushed the button. Within seconds a security guard walked into the hall. "What is the emergency?" The man requested. "Uno is under attack! In the garden! He's dueling right now!" Alice told them too. "Lord Fortuno?! I'll inform the Templar network immediately! Stay here!" He raced back out the hall. "Well, they're good for something at least." Stonewell snickered.

"Okay. I should go back to Uno." Alice took the crystal from her pocket. "Back? With that thing?" He heard how she'd been trying to learn how to use it. He did not expect her to actually succeed. "Yup!" But her nods were fierce. "I just have to think about a place. And it takes me there!" It tired her out a little to do it, but it was worth it. "Wait? Then what about your father? And my.. I mean.. the other missus Stonewell? Couldn't you go and save them now too?" Stonewell suggested. "Oh. I almost forgot again! But yeah.. I could! I could do it right now!"

(To be Continued in Redux 058: Somewhere over a Rainbow)

 **New Cards used by Uno Nisell  
** Timebreaker Magician  
Performapal Fireflux

 **Cards used by ?  
** Crystal Vanguard  
Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus  
Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger  
Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle  
Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle  
Crystal Protector  
Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat  
Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth  
Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise  
Rainbow Dragon

-  
Rare Value  
Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins

 _-  
Crystal Seal (+)  
_Crystal Hoard

 _(+ Based on the trap used by Rafael in Yu-Gi-Oh DM)_


	33. Somewhere over a Rainbow

**Redux 58: Somewhere, over a Rainbow**

Living had become wretched for James Brandt and Mrs Stonewell as of late. They spent four days going from featureless cell to featureless cell, with no word of sight of the outside world. But that all changed in the blink of an eye and a flicker of light. "Ah!" The 'prisoners' met two visitors. "Did you just.. teleport us?" One looked like the mothers son. The other looked like the fathers daughter. "I did? I.. didn't plan to, but it worked! Ooh.." The pendulum brought them both inside, just like Alice wanted. Though it happened sooner than she expected, and it made her feel a bit exhausted. "What on earth? A..lice?" It was safe to say, that James was a bit besides himself. "Dad!" But he was there, Alice couldn't believe it. "Eric? How did you get here? And why are you wearing clothes like that?" Mrs Stonewell could not begin to make sense of this either. "Ehr.." Luckily Stonewell was saved from having to give an awkward explanation by the alarm siren. "Alice. I think we should get out of here. Anywhere will do!" The fusion guild knew they were here now. "Y-yeah! Dad. Mrs Stonewell. Please stay close to me." There was no time explain. Alice took the crystal again.. "Okay? But wh.." And she made all four of them flash out of the room.

...

Uno's LP: 5000 ?'s LP: 7400

"Not a talker eh? I can live with that." The hooded woman before him must have been sent by the guilds. The evidence was circumstantial, but Uno's gutfeeling pushed his suspicion into the 'strongly possible' area. "But I am warning ya. You'd rather talk to me than to the guys in charge." Uno placed another pendulum in the zone that his Performapal Selshell Crab(7/500/2500) had vacated. "Performapal Swincobra!" It was a colorful snake (scale 2) on a swing. Thanks to its activation, Performapal Guitartle (scale 6) used his own power to draw a second card for Uno. "Your pendulum summon was nice. But I prefer my way, with lots of pendulums!" This turn he summoned three defending monsters from the extra deck; Performapal Fireflux(4/1200/1600), Parrotrio(3/500/500) and Timebreaker Magician (3/1400/0). "And now that I've done that, I can ask my pendulums for one final tribute! I activate Pendulum Storm!" The spell Uno activated set a storm off that was growing fast. "The storm will destroy any card in a pendulum zone, and then one more spell on the field!"

"Not going to happen." The woman flipped her trap card, which created a light blue quartz-like crystal. "Artificial Crystal Beast?" This continuous trap acted as a third Crystal Beast in the spell/trap zone. Which meant one thing. "Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins negates Pendulum Storm." As long as three Crystal Beasts were in the spell/trap zone, the Rainbow field spell could sacrifice one of those spell Crystals to negate Uno's spells. The Ruby crystal shattered and the storm of pendulums calmed down. Not only that, the Artificial Crystal powered up existing Crystal Beasts. Amethyst Cat(1700/900), Sapphire Pegasus(2300/1700), Topaz Tiger(2100/1500) and Amber Mammoth(2200/2100) all gained 500 attack and defense points.

 _Artificial Crystal Beast, Continuous Trap_ _  
You can control only 1 "Artificial Crystal Beast"._ _'Crystal Beast' monsters you control gain 500 ATK and DEF.  
_ _When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, you can add 1 'Crystal Beast' card from your graveyard to your hand._

"Well. That ruined the act I had in mind." Timebreaker Magician could normally banish itself and another monster from the field for one turn; breaking time to send them both to the future. With Crystal Vanguard still in the pendulum zone however, Uno could not target Rainbow Dragon with any effects. "I'll just have to revise my script! Sellshell Crab, make Parrotrio stronger!" Uno activated Sellshell Crab's monster effect, which added 300 attackpoints to a pendulum monster like the parakeets(1400/500) for each performapal on the field. "Aaaaand." Uno took Timebreaker off the field, along Fireflux and his tuner Tuning Magician(1/0/0). "If you are who I think you are, you will appreciate this! I synchro summon Enlightenment Paladin!" Three and four stars merged with the Tuners one. "A Synchro Magician?" The appearance of the time-bending paladin(8/2500/2000) visibly shocked the opponent. "Yep! I.." Uno was about to explain its effect. "When.." But he momentarily lost focus, his head felt woozy. _"Huh? What was that?"_ The moment passed, but it still concerned him. _"Save that thought, Uno."_

"Anyway! He can return one used-up spell to my hand!" Enlightenment Paladin swung his sword around to reverse the flow of magic. Pendulum Storm flew out of the graveyard and planted itself back in between Uno's fingers. "Let's try this again! I activate Pendulum Storm!" He stirred the winds back into action. Guitartle, Swincobra, Crystal Vanguard and Crystal Protector were all removed from their pendulum zones. The Rainbow Ruin was the final target of Pendulum Storm and crumbled to pieces inside the hurricane. "And now you can see my Paladin in battle! He attacks the Mammoth!" A swing with the sword and the orange mammoth broke. "Enlightenment Paladin inflicts effect damage too! One lifepoints per destroyed attackpoint!" The shattered crystals began to burn. "What?" 1700 attackpoints exploded right in her face, knocking the hood off. "Kgahhh!"

?'s LP: 5400

"What the.." Uno knew this face. "You're.. one of the guards." This woman with braided brown hair and olive complexion, she patrolled the lower floors. "No wonder no Templars came. You turned them off, didn't you? Wait.. are you even her?" He grew a suspicion as to why she was doing all of this. "Feh. You already know. So by all means keep talking." She was not going to do the explaining for him. "Okay. I am guessing you're just part of palace security in this world. But in the other timeline, you're one of the synchro guild.. the Circle. You synchronized your mind with your counterpart!" Whether she did it halfway or completely, he couldn't tell. If it was the former, than this woman did not even know her body was being borrowed by her dimensional counterpart. "Good guesses." She smirked briefly. "That still leaves one thing I dont get. Why does the Circle want my pendulum? Or any pendulum?" He asked. "Who knows." The woman shrugged. "I am pretty sure you do." Uno grunted. That womans foot was still putting pressure on his crystal. "Well you're not getting it either way! Parrotrio attacks Topaz Tiger!" The parakeets pecked the face of the white tiger(4/1600/1000), but were immediately counter-attacked and clawed to death.

Uno's LP: 4300

Now Parrotrio could summon a non-pendulum Performapal from Uno's deck. "I special summon Performapal Bowhopper!" The slingshooting grasshopper(4/1500/1000) appeared in defense mode. "Bowhopper sacrifices a Performapal!" The hermit crab scuttled on top of the insect and was catapulted away. "You take 100 points of damage for each of its levels!" The crabs shell landed on top of the woman, taking 500 lifepoints away. "Whatever your plans are, you can forget them!" He defiantly ended his turn.

Guard's LP: 4900

"Too bad you have no choice." The womans turn began and she immediately activated the effect of her Rainbow Dragon. "I absorb all crystals into the crystal god!" Amethyst Cat, Sapphire Pegasus and Topaz Tiger were sent to the graveyard. The dragon of seven crystals gained 1000 attackpoints for each sacrifice; three of the gems on his(7000/0) neck lit up. "And.. I activate Over the Rainbow!" Behind the dragon a seven-colored path arose. "During a turn in which I activated Rainbow Dragon's effect, I can special summon as many individual Crystal Beasts from my deck as possible!" Another Sapphire Pegasus(4/2300/1700), Topaz Tiger(4/2100/1700), Amber Mammoth(4/2200/2100) and Cobalt Eagle(4/1900/1300); all walked across the rainbow path to join their god in battle. She also activated a spell card, Advanced Dark. Now monsters could not use their effects when Rainbow Dragon declared an attack. "You should have made a better synchro monster, Lord Uno. Die, Enlightenment Paladin!" The dragon fired a blast of purple, blue and yellow from its mouth.

"White isn't good enough for you? Then I'll add some of my own colors!" Uno activated a quickplay spell. "Hippo Carnival! I summon the hippo tokens!" Three hippos(1/0/0) bounced across the field. "Those horrid things?" The woman was forced to attack the tokens first, during the turn they were summoned by that spell. Rainbow Dragons breath veered off to the side and blasted the orange hippo dancer. "Your continued mockery of this duel does you no favor." Angered, she sent Cobalt Eagle and Amber Mammoth out to slay the blue and yellow hippo tokens. "Your monsters shall still perish." Then Topaz Tiger activated its effect to increase its attackpoints by 400, making it Enlightenment Paladins equal. The tiger and synchro knight clashed claws with swords and cut each other to pieces. "All of them." Finally Sapphire Pegasus fired a beam of light from its horn that tore a hole through Performapal Bowhopper, killing it for good. "You are out of pendulum monsters, out of tricks. Your crystal is not going to help you now, lord Uno." The woman ended her turn.

"So you'd rather risk destroying it than let me have it? It's thanks to that thing that my friends can even be in this world. Isn't that what the Circle wanted, to find a way to save everyone?" If Uno could 'ferry' people from the doomed dimension to the other, with the crystal, it could save millions of lives. "Can you not count? There isn't enough room in the world for 14 billion people. Synchronization is the only way." She wasn't even hiding her true allegiance anymore. "I do not believe that. I already told your friends so... I suppose I'm preaching to a choir here." This wasn't the time to repeat himself. "That aside, you got one thing wrong." Uno drew his next card. "I am never out of pendulums! I set the scales of Performapal Turntoad and Lizardraw!" It was the moment for the green toad (scale 2) and the orange lizard (scale 6). "Even if it's not by my side, I can still use its power! Pendulum summon!" He summoned the pendulum Performapals from the extra deck; Parrotrio, Sellshell Crab, Fireflux and Swincobra(4/300/1800).

"What is this?" Most of the pendulums were summoned in defense mode.. except for Parrotrio. "Parrotrio is just a back-up. In case my main plan goes south. I admit that this is a long shot.." Uno activated Lizardraw's effect. "But I can draw one card since I have a performapal in the other pendulum zone!" The gentleman lizard destroyed itself in its own pendulum zone, and drew a spell card from the deck with its tail. "...Even better than I expected! I activate Performapal Dramatic Theater!" The shadows of Advanced Dark retreated slightly, as a circus tent formed around the two duelists in the garden. "All my monsters gain 200 attackpoints for each different type of monster I control!" Right now he controlled four types, meaning 800 attackpoints for the Fireflux insect(2000/1600), the winged beast Parrotrio(1300/500), the aqua Sellshell Crab(1300/2500) and the reptile Swincobra(1100/1800). "And as a free bonus. When I control four performapals with different types, I can special summon an Odd-Eyes monster from my deck!"

"So you're going to summon your Odd-Eyes Dragon is that it?" The woman sneered. "Nope. Left that with someone else!" Uno used the field spell on a different Odd-Eyes monster; Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix(5/1800/2000). "What?" The Phoenix was another winged beast, so it didn't even enable more attackboosts. "I don't understand where you're going with this." Even if Uno did summon his monsters in attack position, they couldn't take on all the Crystal Beasts. And Advanced Dark could negate damage during a Crystal Beast's battle anyway. "No? Maybe this will help! Turntoad's spell effect can switch the position and points of one face-up monster! I choose, Swincobra!" The toad flipped the snake into attack position, which caused that performapal(1800/300) to swap its attack for its defense and vice versa. Dramatic Theater reapplied its continuous boost to the Cobra(2600/300) afterwards. "Swincobra? No..you can't.." That was enough to clue her in. "Yup. Swincobra can attack directly!" Uno was going after her, not her monsters! "There is no way you have enough attackpoints to.."

"You sure about that?" Uno reactivated the effect of Sellshell Crab, and targeted Swincobra. "There are five Performapals on the field!" The swinging snake(4100/300) gained five powerboosts. "And Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix can tribute herself to add another 1000 attackpoints to a Performapal monster!" The phoenix burst into ashes, while its flames lingered and surrounded Performapal Swincobra(5100/300). "You bastard. You think you're going to win this way?" There was not a single thing her cards could do against an attack like this. So she had little alternative. "Attack me and your crystal will be dust!" She raised her foot. "What? No!" Uno's eyes widened. "Do you think I wont? If only we knew from the start what this _thing_ could do. It is a danger to all of us; it caused this whole crisis to begin with! If we cannot use them, then we must.." She stomped down on the gem. "Destroy it!" The first impact caused no visible damage. "Aaah!" Yet Uno felt the pain as if it was his body being attacked. "Still intact? But I wont stop.." She raised her foot again. "We will not ever.." "STOP!" Uno entered the battle phase. Swincobra made its direct attack. "Too late, LORD.."

"Gwuh?" Before she could strike again, a bright flash engulfed her. "No. What is it doing?" The crystal was fighting back. "It.. it hurts! What are you .." She reached for her head. "Get it out! Get it out!" The light pained her long enough for Swincobra to make its swinging leap over the Crystal beasts and Rainbow Dragon, hitting her its heart-shaped tail. "You did thiiiis!"

Guard's LP: 0

The lightshow ended, and the woman was left there standing dazed and confused. "Wha-what happened? Why am I here? And..." She looked at herself and her black outfit as if she was looking at a stranger. "What are.. My dueldisk is.. Lord Fortuno? What happened?" She reacted even more distressed when she noticed Uno was standing in front of her. "You don't remember?" The woman shook her head. "What about the Circle?" Was it not _her_ anymore, did the other mind leave? "I do not know what you mean, milord." She did not sound like she had a clue of what was going on. And Uno could tell when someone was being genuine. "Did I push her counterpart out by defeating her in a duel? Or was it the pendulum? And did I break the synchronization permanently, or temporarily?" If the pendulum could undo the union of minds, then it was no wonder the Circle and the Synchro guild were so affraid of it. "Miss. There's nothing to worry about. It's all.." Right now he only wanted to put her mind at ease, she was clearly out of sorts. "AHHH!"

Instead the Templar drone took care of her. "NO!" The machine's ray transformed her, and her card fell to the ground besides the crystal. "Uno! Have you been harmed!" At the same time Iria, Inquisitor Silver and Adamant rushed into the scene. "We got Alice's warning, and we came as quickly as possible." Iria explained. But Uno was not hearing her. "Why did you do that?" His focus on was the other Iria. "Why? Because she betrayed us and attacked you. Do I need more reasons?" Silver scoffed and tried to pick up the card. "No! She did not betray us!" Uno grabbed the card first. "Uno. What are you saying? Who was she?" Adamant asked. "She was just a guard, but she was possessed by a member of the Circle. Just like Doms bodyguard was. The woman herself was innocent. She did not deserve this! Where were you even going to take her?" He yelled at her. "Forgive me, my lord. But I have yet to see evidence of this 'Circle' existing. I was merely going to question her, like I do to all who appear guilty." She said with not hint of regret. "She wont know anything, Silver."

"He has a point. If the Circle has infiltrated the palace itself. It could explain why the Templars attacked Uno this morning, and why there were no Templars to monitor his room tonight." Iria tried to use logic to reason with her other half. "..I see one fact in that. This woman couldn't have been working alone. She couldn't direct Templars with her clearance level. Someone else is still working against us on the inside. I doubt it is any of you three. Still, if you want to change her back. It can only be done at the Monument. So you wont be doing her any good by keeping her." The Inquisitor stretched out her hand. "If I do that. I will also give you an order, as your Lord. Turn her back once you realize that she is innocent." Uno handed the woman her card. "As you wish, Lord." The Inquisitor scowled and left with the card.

"Do you trust her?" Adamant inquired the non-Inquisitor Silver. "I wish I could say yes." She rasped. Adamant then turned to the duelist. "Uno. We found something... that can also help that woman. There were gaps in the templar network, dates that correspond with the time of Master Dom's disappearance. I feel like Millennium knows more about him than they are telling us. Someone inside is keeping secrets, the Circle perhaps. The Inquisitor told us she would investigate the matter, but I do not know if she is part of the problem." Uno looked up at them. "What do you want to do?" He asked. Iria smirked in response. "To head to this 'Monument'. To see this sanctuary of immortality itself."

"Oh. That... wait back up a bit. You said you got Alice's warning? Then where is.." Uno's words were drowned out by a loud blast of energy. "We made it!" The crystal transported Alice, her father, Stonewell and his not-actual-mother back to the garden. "Alice?" Uno gasped. "Uno! Look! I saved them! I.." As excited as she was though, she lacked the strength to keep it up. She slumped to the ground and closed her eyes. "Alice?" James cried out. "Wait. I think she just exhausted herself." Uno guessed. It was the middle of the night, and she hadn't slept all this time. "Will someone please tell me what is going on?" A wildly frantic Mrs Stonewell shouted. "That would be helpful." Adamant said as he stared at Stonewell and James for answers. They had some experiences to share.

...

"We must have misheard. I almost thought you were telling me that our guests have gone missing." Dame took the news of James and Mrs Stonewells disappearance well. "That is funny, aha. So funny I might bust a gut! SO WHY AM I NOT LAUGHING, MC?" Phoebe clearly did not. "Yeah. Before you start throwing things, why not see 'how' it happened." Her accomplice in the shadows put up a screen with footage of their great escape. "The girl?!" Dame Phoebe saw Alice and Stonewell teleport in and out, taking the two prisoners with her. "She was using a pendulum we did not encounter yet. They were gone before I could adjust the barriers or send in any guards." MC zoomed in on the crystal in Alice's hand. "She has one too now?! What makes her so special?" The guildleader's left eye twitched. "Heh. Fine! If that's how they wants to play it.. then we'll cheat too!"

(To be Continued in Redux 057: Bird in her Hand)

 **New Cards used by Uno Nisell  
** Performapal Swincobra

-  
Pendulum Storm

 **Cards used by 'Circle' Member  
** Over the Rainbow  
Advanced Dark

 _-  
Artificial Crystal Beast_


	34. Bird in her Hand

**Redux 57: Bird in her Hand**

"These people came, told us they knew were our children were, and coerced us to come with them. Didn't take long to figure out they didn't have my daughters or Eric. But by then we were their prisoners." James Brandt summarized the past few days of his tense life before everyone gathered in the palace foyer. "Do you recall anything about your surroundings?" Adamant finally had someone to question, someone who saw the inside the Fusion guild's hideout. "Sorry. Aside from two cells I didn't see much. They blindfolded us each time they moved us, or waited til we were asleep. I didn't even know we were in another... dimension." James was still wrapping his head around that revelation. So was Mrs Stonewell. "Ma. For the millionth time. We can't go back home here.. It's like a mirror universe or something." Her son tried to explain it to her as well as much as he could. "I don't care where it is. What have you been doing all this time?" She was happy to see Eric again of course, she just had her own way of expressing it. "A lot has happened, clearly. But I never knew.. you went through all of this crazyness." James sighed and looked at his daughter, sleeping on the couch. She was the only reason he was here.

"Yes. She has surprised us many times." Adamant would have liked to say more, but it was time to change the subject. "... Eric. Can we leave them in your care?" He requested. "Sure. Why? Are you going somewhere?" Eric asked them back. "The less we say, the better. We have a flight to catch." And they had to catch it soon. "I believe that is already saying too much." Iria shook her head and sighed. "A flight? You mean you're gonna go on one of those fancy new planes? Aw.. I wanted to go one too!" Eric sulked. "And abandon your poor old mother just after she meets her son again? The other one already doesn't want to talk to me, but _you_ are my son." Mrs Stonewell put on the pity and outrage act again. "No.. mom. I'll stay! Eesh." Eric groaned. He would have to put up with it. "But good luck, wherever you're going."

"Thank you, Eric Stonewell." Adamant saluted him and the others. "Mr Brandt, Mrs Stonewell; may your stay be a pleasant one."

...

That same morning, Uno met with his family again. "This is very Troubling news, Brother." Both Marco and Anastasia received news of the attack and of the threat the Circle posed. "I Trusted these people with Everything. Anyone of them could be a Spy?" Due to the way synchronization worked; there could be infiltrators who did not even know what they were doing. "Yes, and I believe they are taking advantage of the templars. That is why I want to go to the place where they're controlled. So I can see who accessed them without going through proper channels." The part about suspecting Inquisitor Silver he left aside for now. "the monument is far from here. that journey would take you outside. you could be attacked again, Uno." Anastasia was quick to counter with concerns. "She is right. I fear I cannot Allow you to Leave. We still have Much to show You." Marco claimed. And he spoke up before Uno could object. "However! I would 'overlook' it If your Friends happened to find a Carrier they can use to Fly to the Monument, Perhaps one in Bay 7 of Floor 23." He mentioned offhandedly. "Huh. You know they just might."

A couple of minutes later, Uno tracked down the others and went with them to the 23th floor. Lo and behold, there was an unguarded cargoplane just standing there. "So your world still uses those old big-nosed planes eh?" Stonewell was there too, lamenting the monochrome, flat and wide-winged design of the vehicle. It was aerodynamic, but it just missed a little style. "Still. If it gets me to where they're keeping Tory, I can stomach it. Better than staying here." He did not plan on skipping this adventure. "I suppose it must be weird to be close to your mother, when she's so different." Uno could understand him wanting to leave the palace too. "What? No. That woman is too much like my mother, that's the weird part. Eric can have her." Stonewell said with a shudder. "Well. I wish I could go with all of you, but Marco and Anastasia have put their foot down again." Today his family was going to give him a tour of the control city. It would be eye-opening, but Uno felt a hint of guilt nonetheless. "We will manage." Iria stated as she and Adamant entered the plane. "If you're that worried. You can use this." Stonewell handed Uno a small communicator. "Oh." It was the same device Tory handed off before her 'defeat'. "You know how it works. Keep in touch. But I wouldn't worry. I have no plans of going down.."

Once Stonewell boarded, the trio took off. The cargo jet quietly hovered away with just a push of the button and without the need for a runway. Uno waved at them, even as they turned into a dot on the horizon pretty quickly. "I set it to fly on an automatic course to the facility. We should be there in less than an hour." Adamant reported after a few minutes. "Well. It's going smooth, I guess. But can't this thing fly any faster?" Stonewell gazed through the window. The cars below were going faster than them. "I would prefer it if we could fly this manually as well." The disciple confessed. Machines were not always that dependable. "Unless any of us can steer the machine, I do not see us getting there any earlier." The controls on the bridge were somewhat more complex than what Adamant was used to flying. "How hard can it be?" Stonewell walked up to the controls. "Forget I asked." There were more screens and buttons than stars in the sky on this thing. "Well, I recognize some functions.. and displays for the coordinates, altitude and pressure." Iria figured she could at least control the thing, in a pinch. "There is the map and radar..."

"There's another light on there." The radar had two blips, one for the plane and one for an unknown party.. "We're being followed." Adamant concluded. "What? Who would be insane enough to.."

"... I think _she_ 'd be!" Stonewell shouted as he looked out the side window. "There is no way." In all her life, Iria had never seen anything this wild. "Dame Phoebe!" The two-faced duelist was pursuing them in mid-air, riding the fusion dragon like a winged steed. "Does she want to die?" Iria growled while the dragon spat out a blast of bloodred energy that narrowly missed them. "I think she wants us to die!" Stonewell latched on to the walls as the vessel shook on all sides. "She is aiming for the cargo doors." Adamant rushed to the back section of the plane. "Stay there." He ordered as he sealed the doors behind him. After that he pushed a button to open hatches on the floor of the plane. "What are you doing?" Even at their current speed and elevation, they risked getting sucked out and falling to their deaths below. "We cannot outrun her. We must confront her before she does any damage." Right on cue the guild woman flew in through the opening and stepped down inside the cargo bay. "I got you now, you naughty kids!"

"Dame Phoebe." Adamant held his hand above his dueldisk. "Sir Adamant, you're using my name! I am honored. Lovely day isn't it? The sun is shining, and I feel good." Dame Phoebe pulled back the hologram of the dragon into her dueldisk. "I understand why you XYZ-guilders love solid vision so much. Though I bet you never tried using monsters this way! That was a rush!" She let out a impassioned cry. "Now what do I see? Three very serious faces, and no little Alice, or cute Eric? Hmmm. You'll have to do.. You see..I lost a couple of birdies this morning. Luckily you can replace them!" She then reshuffled her deck and drew five cards. "Come on Adamant, I know you always wanted to have a duel to the death with me! Here I am! I challenge you!" She placed one monster down and one trap card.

Adamant's LP: 8000 Phoebe's LP: 8000

"How did you find us?" Adamant asked as he also placed one monster and one trap card down on the field. "We know a looot, XYZ-leader. We got to this world first. But now you want to get our secrets, without anything in return? Tsk tsk." Phoebe flicked her finger. "Anyway, why are you so shy? Are you scared? You should be. It's my turn!" She flipped Edge Imp Frightfuloid(4/1300/1300) face-up. "I activate Frightfur Sanctuary!" A twisted fusion of spikes, blades, castles, train tracks and green lamps covered the inside of the plane, springing out from a continuous spell. "I can discard one card to send two Frightfurs from my extra deck to the graveyard!" Dame Phoebe discarded an Edge Imp Chain card and threw away the Frightfurs Bear and Frightfur Wolf. "And since Edge Imp Chain is sent to the graveyard.." Phoebe could also relieve a Frightfur card from the deck. "I will take Frightfur Fusion, thank you!" She added the fusion spell to her hand.. and activated it. "I banish three Frightfurs, to fusion summon my ultimate killer! Frightfur Chimera!"

"Gah! She's bringing out the big ugly guns " Stonewell winced. Frightfuloid, who counted himself as a Frightfur monster, merged with the remains of the Bear and Wolf to create the three-headed Chimera(8/2800/2000). "Let's meet our first victim!" The bear-head of Frightfur Chimera opened its mouth and fired a missile into Adamant's face-down card. "Guh. Could you try to keep the thing whole?" Iria rasped while the plane rumbled. "Oh I am not the one who can't fly." Phoebe's Frightfur used its other effect to steal the monster it destroyed. The destroyed Raidraptor Napalm Dragonius(4/1000/1000) was summoned to her field in defense position, and the Chimera(3100/2000) gained 300 attackpoints while Phoebe controlled Adamants monster. Dragonius normally would summon another Raidraptor from the deck if it was destroyed by an attack too. "Aww. Did Adamant want to use this cards effects? Too bad that you cant use effects when Chimera battles! Oh, don't worry. I will use Napalmy's other power!" Phoebe activated the Raidraptors effect to inflict 600 points of damage to Adamant. "Ggh." He took a napalm shot to the chest. "Heehee." Phoebe placed two traps down and called in her turn's end.

Adamant's LP: 7400

"Adamant. Make this quick. The plane can't handle this for long!" Iria yelled from behind the door. "Understood." His fingers moved rapidly. "Vanishing Lanius, Fuzzy Lanius!" The duelist normal summoned the green and blue raidraptor(4/1300/1600) and, as he controlled a Raidraptor now, special summoned the fuzzy purple raidraptor(4/500/1500) from his hand. "Raidraptor - Nest!" As he controlled two raidraptors, he could use his continuous spell next. It searched the deck and retrieved a second Raidraptor; Vanishing Lanius. The effect of the first Vanisher allowed him to special summon this second one(4/1300/1600). "Overlay!" He attached Fuzzy Lanius to the first Vanishing Lanius, creating a rank 4 monster, the mechanical owl Raidraptor Force Strix(4/600/2500). "That one eh?" Naturally as a fellow guildleader, Phoebe could easily keep track of his many moves. And Adamant was just building up steam.

"Now!" Adamant detached Fuzzy Lanius from Force Strix to activate the XYZ-monsters effect. At the same time Fuzzy Lanius used its own secondary ability, during its trip to the graveyard. Force Strix drew the third Vanishing Lanius Raidraptor from Adamants deck. Fuzzy Lanius added a copy of itself to Adamant's hand. "And again!" The second Vanishing Lanius enabled the special summon of the third(4/1300/1600). "And Tribute Lanius as well!" The third Vanisher cleared a special summon for the blue segment feathered Raidraptor(4/1800/400). With Tribute Lanius summoned, Adamant's deck could send one of its Raidraptor cards into the graveyard. He sent Raidraptor Readiness into the graveyard. "Now, my second XYZ-summon!" Both remaining Vanishing Raidraptors were overlayed and together they formed their own Force Strix(4/1100/3000). "Hehh? Do I hear a three?"

Each Force Strix gained 500 attack and defense points for each other Raidraptor on the field, and Adamant controlled two of those. "I add Singing Lanius." He soon controlled a third. Adamant activated the second Strix's effect, to add a Raidraptor to his hand that could be special summoned when the duelist already controlled a XYZ-monster. Singing Lanius(4/100/100) was special summoned in defense mode. "And I activate Raptors Ultimate Mace!" One of the Force Strixes(4/1600/3500) picked up a glowing neon mace. This equip spell added 1000 attackpoints to the Raidraptor(2600/3500). "Battle!" Adamant entered his battle phase. "About time! I thought we'd never get there!" Phoebe laughed even as the stolen Raidraptor Napalm Dragonius was killed by the first attacker, Tribute Lanius. Frightfur Chimera(2800/2000) lost its own powerboost with its slave destroyed. "Come, Sharp Lanius!" With Napalm Dragonius sent to his graveyard, Adamant was the one who could special summon a Raidraptor from his deck. He called the razor red Raidraptor(4/1700/1000) with its effects negated. This fifth raptor added another 500 attackpoints to the the XYZ-Raidraptors. "Attack the fusion!" The Force Strix(3100/4000) with the Ultimate Mace set upon the Frightfur monstrosity.

"Your skills haven't gone rusty, Adamant. But what about your instincts? I wanna play a game." Dame activated her trap card. "Magical Hats! Can you guess which Hat my scary monster is using?" She took two spell cards from her deck, two Toy Vendors, to shuffle face-down on the field as pseudo-monsters. Frightfur Chimera was flipped and shuffled as well. All three cards appeared on the field as hats. "Left!" Stonewell hollered. "That'd be too obvious." Iria had her own idea where her monster was hiding, but she knew Adamant wouldn't listen. ".." He chose his own target. "That one." The empowered Force Strix dropped the Ultimate Mace on the rightmost hat. "!?" A terrifying roar escaped the smashed card. "He got it!?" Eric cried out in surprise as the Frightening Chimera inside blew up completely. "That was almost too good a hunch." Phoebe grimaced. "I did not gamble, Phoebe. I followed your movements, I knew which card was set were." Adamant openly admitted. "A leader leaves nothing to chance!" The remaining hats were destroyed by the other Force Strix(2100/4000) and Sharp Lanius.

"AH! You trained your eyes then! Hee, I can't wait to pop them!" The Hats disappeared, but the original Toy Vendor spells carried their own effects. Through their destruction, a Fluffal or Edge Imp Saber card could be sent to Phoebe's eager hands. She added Fluffal Mouse and one Edge Imp Sabers. "..." Just through that move, her next plan became crystal clear. Adamant needed to prepare himself. "Tribute Lanius!" This turn Tribute Lanius had destroyed a monster, so it could give Adamant a quickplay Rank-Up-Magic card. He took Rank-Up-Magic: Raptors Force. He placed it down in the spell/trap zone. "XYZ-Summon!" Finally Sharp Lanius and Tribute Lanius became XYZ-materials for the third Raidraptor Force Strix(4/1600/3500), summoned in defense mode. "I take Raidraptor Booster Strix from my deck!" The last Force Strix used up one material to send a lowlevel Raidaptor to Adamant. Now that he had several defenses, he felt secure enough. "End turn."

"Hmmmm, why don't you talk to me more, Adamant? This is a rare opportunity, you know." Dame whined, while she drew a card with her free hand. "Violence is all you XYZ-guys understand.""And that's why I like you, Adamant!""We summon Fluffal Mouse!" The newest guest of the Sanctuary was a tiny blue mouse(1/100/100) with wings on its back. "Oh so cute! I want more!" If it was normal summoned, Fluffal Mouse could special summon two more Fluffal Mice(1/100/100) from the deck. "More to feed to my Tiger I mean! Spell card, Double Fusion!" And all three Fluffals were thrown into the cauldron of fusion, along with the Edge Imp Sabers card in her hand. "FUSION SUMMON! Come out and play, Frightfur Tiger!" The innocent mice were torn to pieces by claws and sabers, their hide and fluff merged together in the shape of a blue tiger(6/1900/1200) with scissor-blades in its stomach. It(2200/1200) added 300 attackpoints to itself with its own effect. "Four meals.. four deaths!" The Tiger could destroy one of Adamants cards for each material fused into its body. The four targets were the face-down Raptors Force, Singing Lanius, defending Force Strix and Mace-carrying Force Strix. They all suffered a brutal death.

 _Double Fusion, Normal Spell_  
 _Fusion summon 1 Fusion monster from your extra deck, using monsters from your hand or your side of the field as Fusion materials.  
During your turn: you can banish this card from your Graveyard and pay 500 lifepoints, then Fusion summon 1 Fusion monster from your extra deck, using monsters from your hand or side of the field as Fusion materials._

"Frightfur Tiger, play with his monster!" The last attack-position Force Strix(100/2000) was powerless now. "Raidraptor - Booster Strix!" Fortunately, Adamant could counter the attack with a monster discarded from his hand. "Booster Strix negates an attack against a Raidraptor and destroys the attacker? Did you even wonder why I let you keep one Raidraptor?! So you could try this one on for size!" Phoebe flipped a counter-trap. "Frightfur March! If my Frightfur is targeted by an effect, I can switch it with one level 8 or higher Frightfur in my extra deck!" The tiger disappeared before Booster Strix could detonate. "It fusion summons Frightfur Sabre-Tooth!" In its place came its more ferocious ancestor, the sabre-toothed tiger(8/2400/2000). "And when Sabre-Tooth is fusion summoned, he can special summon a Frightfur from my graveyard!" The purple tiger resurrected the blue Tiger. "!" Now that there were more Frightfurs on the field, the regular Tiger added twice as many attackpoints to all other monsters. And Sabre-Tooth(3400/2000) automatically gave 400 attackpoints to itself and other Frightfurs. "Your little plan failed!" The toothy Frightfur bit off the wings of the last XYZ-Raidraptor. "Just like all your other plans did, XYZ-leader! You're even not in your own world anymore, you're a lost sheep waiting to be slaughtered!"

Adamant's LP: 4100

"Adamant. She's working you! Don't play her mindgames!" Stonewell yelled from behind the door. "I am well aware." If he thought about it, his guild might have been manipulated from the beginning. "This not my world, that is true. But it is not yours either, Phoebe. Neither of us has a right to dictate whether this world should live or die." The silent treatment did not work with her, so he reconsidered his approach. He would 'chat' with her. "That's where you're wrong, Adamant! I am Dame and Phoebe, I am from this world and yours! And I am going to save them both, by returning them to the way they should have been!" The two-voiced woman cackled. "No. You are not, Phoebe.. and Dame." He retorted. "What?" She snapped. "When I was in the palace, I looked up any information that could be of use to us. Part of that pertained to the identity of this world's Phoebe." He let the words hang. The womans left eye widened. "Phoebe _Moll_ died at the age of 7. There is only one of you, Dame. The rest is just an act.. one that has lost its effect."

(To be Continued in Redux 056: Dissociative Identity Order)

 **New Cards used by Adamant  
** Raidraptor - Booster Strix

 **New Cards used by Dame Phoebe  
** Fluffal Mouse

-  
Frightfur Sanctuary

-  
Frightfur March


	35. Dissociative Identity Order

**Redux 56: Dissociative Identity Order**

This was one of his cities, his capitols. A black Cadillac drove through its streets, surrounded by a dozen templars and security vans. "And here we have Powerplant. Can generates up to 50000 Megawatts of energy a Day, and draws it all from Atomic reactions. It took a while to Perfect, but eventually we Cleaned the process to Eliminate all harmful Energy types." Lord Marco and Lady Anastasia talked to their brother about every building, factory they came across. They never stopped the car. "I don't suppose I can see the inside?" Uno felt boxed in, separated from the world by black glass windows. "no, Uno. not like this. the people of the world shouldn't find out who we are." Anastasia warned him. "Yes, if you Must do it. Do it in Secret, like our dear Sister." Marco let out a chuckle. "amadeus.." She whined. "But could it hurt? I barely see anyone out there." The city was rather desolate, at least the power district part of it. "Perhaps at a Later time." Marco said dismissively. So that was that, Uno would be stuck here for the next few hours. _"...should have given this to Eric."_ Stonewell's communicator was still in his pocket, he didn't want to call Iria and company while he was surrounded by a dozen officials. _"Why can't I shake the feeling that something's gone wrong with them? Probably because something always goes wrong."_

...

Adamant's LP: 4100 Phoebe's LP: 8000

"Dead? You think _I_ am dead? Look who's talking!" Though the duel paused briefly for their verbal exchange, after Frightfur Sabre-Tooth(3400/2000) killed Adamant's Raidraptor Force Strix. Her Frightfur Tiger(2900/1200) could still attack and his words angered her enough to drive her right back into action. "..." Adamant could act first however, by flipping his set spell face-up. "Rank-Up-Magic: Doom Double Force? You had two Rank-spells set!?" Doom Double Force was stronger in many aspects then the Raptors Force spell card she destroyed earlier. It took the destroyed XYZ-Raidraptor and used it as a material for an XYZ-Raidraptor with twice its rank. "Raidraptor! Satellite Cannon Falcon!" So Adamant could XYZ-summon the great space-cannon bird(8/3000/3000). As Satellite Cannon Falcon was XYZ-summoned, all of Phoebe's spells and traps would be destroyed. A swarm of lasers cracked the twisted Frightfur Sanctuary wide open. This triggered the spell's final effect, which returned a fusion monster, Frightfur Chimera, to Phoebe's extra deck. "Did you not enjoy what you heard, Phoebe Moll?" Clearly he had touched a nerve.

"Phoebe did not die, Adamant. She became part of us. I'm Phoebe and I am Phoebe; and we are merely the first of many! Synchronization? That can only save millions out of billions! Invasion? That condemns whichever world loses! That prophecy you keep talking about? A useless daydream! There is only one way to change the world for the better, and that is my way; the fusion guild's way!" Dame Phoebe ended her turn. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Frightfur March banished the monster it fusion summoned during the players endphase. The trap paraded Sabre-Tooth off the field and sent it into another dimension. With Sabre-Tooth no more, so to did Frightfur Tigers(2200/1200) attackbonuses disappear.

"There is more to it than that, Phoebe. There is a reason why you set forth on this path. Everyone has a reason." Adamant started his turn. Since he controlled a Raidraptor again, he could special summon Fuzzy Lanius(4/500/1500) from his hand in defense mode. "Tribute Lanius." With two Raidraptors active, Raidraptor Nest was allowed to give Adamant a second Tributer Raidraptor from his deck. He summoned it(4/1800/400) and activated its effect to send another Mimicry Lanius to the graveyard. The effect of the sent Mimicry bird, grabbed the countertrap Raidraptor Desperate. "Attack!" The Falcon Satellite dove into the hole in the jetplane's floor, and positioned itself underneath the flying plane. Adamant wanted to be careful with this shot. His monster charged a focused beam that destroyed Frightfur Tiger and nothing else. Tribute Lanius on the other hand attacked Phoebe directly, nipping her in the arm with its beak. "Perhaps something or someone in your past told you about you other half's fate, and it helped shape your present nature." Adamant placed one trap card down and ended his turn.

Phoebe's LP: 5400

"Wait. Now I am confused. What is this persons deal?" Stonewell never got the part about why she was pretending to be two people at once, make-up included. Now was as good a time as any to ask. "We took it for an eccentric performance at first. From what I am now gathering; she sees it as a literal fusion of herself and her counterpart. As if she contained multiple personalities." Dame acted as the dominant side in Iria's world. Phoebe took control in Stonewell's dimension. "Can't she be? I mean those Circle guys can somehow fuse minds." Or so Uno claimed. "I doubt it. I think she fooled herself into believing her own lie. A while ago she dueled someone, a psychic duelist if you can believe it. She claimed that Phoebe was hypnotized, that this dual identity syndrome is nothing more than enforced method acting." This story she only got second-hand from Eric. But Iria knew the psychic in question; June. That woman was rarely wrong about something. "But why did she do it? Just for the image?" The gimmick certainly did fit a 'fusion' guild. "I don't even know if she can remember why."

It was Phoebe's turn again. "I know what you're doing, Adamant. I can tell when a man is trying to sweet-talk his way to victory. You're desperate, I already made you go to the eight rank. And I still have so many wonders to show you." The Dame giggled. "But I forgive you. I'll go gently... with my Fluffy dog!" She normal summoned the Fluffal Dog monster(4/1700/1000), who searched the deck for another Fluffal upon leaving the players hand. "And this one is even fluffier! Fluffal Sheep can special summon herself when another Fluffal is already alive!" A winged sheep of orange wool(2/400/800) landed right next to the dog. "Sheepy will return one Fluffal to my hand, and summon an Edge Imp from the graveyard!" The sheep absorbed Fluffal Dog into its wool and tossed out Edge Imp Chain(4/1200/1800). "And that is where I come in!" Phoebe cackled like a witch as she activated a fusion spell, from her graveyard. "I banish Double Fusion, and pay 500 lifepoints, to fuse two monsters on my field! Any Edge Imp and any Fluffal can be fused to special summon Frightfur Kraken!"

Phoebe's LP: 4900

The sheep was torn apart by chains to transform into a purple squid(8/2200/3000) with scythes at the ends of its tentacles. "Frightfur Kraken can send one monster on the field to the graveyard, but it can't attack directly if it does! I choose the XYZ!" The Krakens tentacles stretched out and strangled the Satellite Cannon Falcon until it exploded and died. "Your countertrap cant stop that, can it?" Raidraptor Desperate only responded to destruction effects, not to cards that directly sent monsters into their grave. "Mean While!" Phoebe activated Frightfur Fusion from her hand. "!" That spell was dropped in her clutches the second Edge Imp Chain sent itself to the graveyard again. "I fusion summon Frightfur Wolf!" Edge Imp Sabers, Fluffal Sheep and three Fluffal Mice were banished to be fused. The ferocious scissor-gut wolf(6/2000/1500) dropped onto the field. "Frightfur Wolf can attack once for each fusion material. Soooo.. it can attack FIVE TIMES!" Phoebe clenched her fist. "Bite, Rip, Tear, Slash, KILL!" The battle started, and the Wolf ran through Adamants Raidraptors. With just two attacks, Fuzzy Lanius and Tribute Lanius were destroyed. "Raidraptor Readiness!" But Adamant could negate the battle damage this turn by banishing the Readiness trap from his graveyard this turn, rendering further attacks pointless as well. "Tch, that wont save you twice. I end my.. our turn!"

"Phoebe. I also looked up _how_ she died." Adamant spoke again once his turn started. "An illness took her life; a condition induced by dangerous radiation released into the air ten years ago. That was just one of many unforeseen consequences of the rapid expansion of this world's energy processors. It claimed more lives." He kept playing his cards as well, setting his last Raidraptor Fuzzy Lanius face-down on the field. "Shut up." But Phoebe only payed attention to the story of Phoebe Moll. "I suppose when you discovered her fate, you decided to make an enemy of this world; to tear its very nature down." Adamant did not stop. He entered his battle phase. "I said shut up, or I'll tear out your tongue! You know nothing about us and you can change nothing by talking to us! What are you even trying to do?" Uno had no monsters to fight with, yet. "This. I activate Rebellion." He revealed a quickplay spell. "Rebellion!?" That spell could take control of one monster for one battle phase. "I take Frightfur Kraken!" He gained control of the destructive squid. "Your fusion has another effect, it can attack twice each turn. It will do the same here!" Kraken used its first attack to finish off Frightfur Wolf. The second direct attack hit Phoebe's side. "Geh. You lost everything and now you're trying to take my cuties? That's not gonna cut it, Adamant!"

Phoebe's LP: 2500

As the battle phase wound down, Fright Kraken returned to Phoebe's field. "..." Adamant placed another trap card down and ended his turn. "And you are so wrong, Adamant. I don't hate this world. We hate both!" She resummoned Fluffal Dog(4/1700/1000) and used his effect to add a second Fluffal Sheep from her deck to her hand. The Fluffal Sheep summoned herself in defense mode, returned Fluffal Dog(2/400/800) to Phoebe's hand and resummoned Edge Imp Chain from the graveyard. "You made me remember what my life was like in that hellhole." Even though 'Dame' was talking, her sugary sweet tone was laced with bitterness. "No mommy, please don't hurt me! I will be a good girl! Just don't hurt me daddy! I will be perfect!" She shrieked. "Perfect. Perfect. PERFECT! It always had to be Perfect! Even though everyone around me was rotten! When I heard about the other world.. I thought.. _that_ Phoebe must be perfect. Her world was so much better, its people so much nicer. But... it wasn't! She was dead! Dead because of more imperfection! She lived a happier life. I could have had her life! We do now!" She breathed out and in, and put on a wide smile. "I'm sorry.. Sorry you had to see that. Adamant.." The battle phase began. "Die."

Adamant had many things to react to. "XYZ-Reborn!" First he would block the Frightfur with his trap. He waited until Frightfur Kraken destroyed Fuzzy Lanius and declared its second direct attack. "Satellite Cannon Falcon!" XYZ-Reborn special summoned the XYZ-monster(8/3000/3000) from the graveyard, and also attached itself to the revived Falcon as an XYZ-material. "I activate the Falcons effect!" The XYZ-Raidraptor detached the trap material to target Phoebe's Kraken, reducing its attack and defense points by 800 for each Raidraptor in Adamants graveyard. There were dozens by now, all of their spirits assailed the aquatic fusion(0/0). Even if the Frightfur did not finish its direct attack, it still declared one, so it couldn't use its killing effect this turn. "Phoebe, I did not intend to open old wounds. I take no pleasure from it. But we cannot let the past rule our actions. Pretending to be someone you are not, will not change what happened. You told Alice that you wanted to improve the world by returning it to its past state. Even if it is possible to make the timelines one again, that will not create a perfect world!"

"Don't try to say sorry. You never have before." Dame spat. "You want to know how I am going to change everything? Simple.. by bringing back lost powers! In the times before, there was a magic that could fuse whole dimensions together! It only exists now as a memory.. As a simple two-dimensional card." Phoebe revealed a quickplay spell. "I activate SUPER POLYMERIZATION!" She discarded Fluffal Dog from her hand to activate it. "Adamant, she is going to use your monster as a fusion material!" Iria saw Martel use this spell before. Phoebe had it too! "What?" Satellite Cannon Falcon was taken from him, because it was a dark-attribute monster. "By fusing two Dark monsters!" The Raidraptor fused with Edge Imp Chain. "I will create STARVE VENOM FUSION DRAGON!" And so she gave life to the ravenous dragon of poison(8/2800/2000) once more. "Just look, Adamant. This is the kind of power one card still has inside! Dom made this! And I am going to make many more like it, once we have access to his vaults!"

The plane really began to buckle under the pressure of the duel monsters now. "Damn it!" Iria raced to the bridge controls. "I hope this works!" She switched to manual mode and grabbed the stick to level the plane. "We're going down, aren't we?!" Stonewell saw the ground below getting closer. "I can keep it steady! We are almost there!" Up ahead was a large dome, floating among the clouds. That had to be the Monument. "Heehee. What's the matter? Can't stay afloat without power?" Of course it was no problem for Dame Phoebe, who could just keep riding her dragon to stay in the air. "In the old worlds, you didn't need metal to fly! Dragons, gods, angels; they all lived! You can have your future and your prophecies, Adamant." Phoebe placed one trap card down. "As little of it there is!" Starve Venom pulled its tail back. "!" With a wide sweeping direct attack, Adamant was knocked off the floor. "No, Adamant! Look out!" With nothing to hold on to anymore, he was sucked right out of the plane. "Gah! Iria, we have to save him!" Stonewell shouted. "We have to save ourselves first!"

Adamant's LP: 1300

"Don't worry. I will make sure he's _saved_! If you get what I mean!" Phoebe and Starve Venom Fusion Dragon jumped down the hole and chased after Adamant. "Gh.." Adamant was going down fast, he could barely move or see. But he still had his cards with him, he was still fighting her. "Draw!" So he pulled a card from his deck and activated it. "Rank-Up-Magic: Soul Shape Force!" He fell into a brilliant golden light as he summoned his next monster. "Aha? You learned to fly tool!?" The Soul Shaper spell would use one dead Raidraptor-XYZ-monster and rank it up twice. "Wait.. you're.." Yet he was using Satellite Cannon Falcon as the starting point. As far as Phoebe knew, Adamant had never gone higher than rank 8. "Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon!" Metal turned to gold, a shining mechanical falcon(10/3500/2000) parted the energy bubble with its eight wings. "What is.."

Adamant's LP: 650

"The greatest weapon in my extra deck. You are the first to see it, Phoebe." Under normal circumstances, Adamant would have felt joy that someone was able to push him this far. But he already knew his destiny was different from what he imagined. A pure battle was no longer possible, or what mattered. "So I will give you the full effect. Ultimate Falcon is immune to all card effects. And.." He detached one material from his monster. "It can erase 1000 attackpoints from all opponents monsters, and negate all activations this turn!" The Ultimate Falcon flew in front of the sun and collected its rays within its solar ring. "My cards?" Ultimate Falcon unleashed the concentrated sunlight and burned a thousand points away from Starve Venom(1800/2000), Frightfur Kraken(1200/3000) and Fluffal Sheep(0/800). Meanwhile Phoebe's trap was sealed. "NO!" As easily as that, victory was taken away from her. He would not have to face Starve Venom, she had one helpless target already. "Raidraptor Ultimate Falcon, attack Frightfur Kraken!" The fusion that the previous Falcon had weakened, was finished off by blinding blasts from the current Falcons wingblades.

Phoebe's LP: 0

"Just an instance of the Ultimate Falcon, was enough." Adamant cast a quick glare behind him. Iria was managing the plane, they were close to the Monument and landed there. "Good." He would join them shortly. "Raaaagh!" But first he had to deal with Phoebe. "ugh!" She was no longer playing by the rules, her dragon assaulted Adamant's Falcon straight on. "I am not going anywhere! I will not be buried again! You hear me! YOU HEAR ME!" Phoebe was out of control. She would knock Adamant off his XYZ-monster if he let her have her way. He was not close enough to the facility yet. "Regardless of what you want, Phoebe, it is over! Raidraptor Ultimate Falcon, attack Frightfur Kraken!" The fusion that the previous Falcon had weakened, was finished off by blinding blasts from the current Falcons wingblades. "Gaahhh!" The attack knocked the Fusion Dragon and its rider back, and started to destabilize the creature's hologram.

Phoebe's LP: 0

"RHaaa!" Phoebe's monster stayed intact long enough for her to reach the Monument. Adamant gave pursuit as his Ultimate Falcon wouldn't stay active for long either. The two smashed down in a cove that circled around the flying facility; which functioned as a landing strip. "Bah! Kgah!" Her landing was a bit rougher, she cut the side of her forehead as she fell down on the hard floor. "Back off!" She still possessed enough energy to get up and keep her distance from Adamant, who was a bit bruised but otherwise fine. "Adamant!" He was quickly joined by Stonewell and Iria. "It's over, Phoebe. You lost. Accept it!" The fusion duelist was outnumbered three-to-one. "Heh.. eheheh." Even she realized the futility of resisting them. Dame still gave them a happy smile. "For me, maybe. But I am not sorry. My Guild will keep going. I still want the magic to return to this world, the dimensions to fuse. They will make sure that happens.."

"Phoebe. You said someone introduced you to this timeline? Who was it?" Now that they had her cornered, Adamant wanted to pump her for information. He knew who started his guild and the synchro guild, but hers had been a mystery up until now. "Heh.. You met him already.. Martel. It was Martel." She claimed wryly. "Huh? The puppet guy? I thought he was your minion?" This bit of news confused Stonewell more than it cleared things up. "No. That's what he made me believe. But we see it now.. I'm just another pawn. He let me lead, while he hid in the shadows. Acting is what I am good at, after all." While she talked to them, she got alarmingly close to the edge of the platform. And she was moving that way on purpose. "Phoebe! Stop!" Iria yelled. "No, you're not getting anything else out of me. I wont let this world turn me into a card just so they can scoop out my brain." Phoebe spotted several Templars on the approach already. "I would rather die. Oh wait, I'm already dead.." She laughed, before she took the last step.

"PHOEBE!" Adamant tried to catch her, but he was too late. She was falling too fast, already a dot above the earth, and then.. gone.

(To be Continued in Redux 055: Too Good to be True)

 **New Cards used by Adamant  
** Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon

-  
Rank-Up-Magic: Doom Double Force  
Rebellion

 **New Cards used by Dame Phoebe  
** Fluffal Sheep

-  
Frightfur Kraken

-  
Super Polymerization


	36. Too Good to be True

**Redux 55:** **Too Good to be True**

She met two strange and magical ladies, she saved Uno's life from a mysterious assassin, she crossed time and space in a matter of seconds to break out her own father; It all sounded like a magical adventurous dream. "uhn.. huh?" And that was almost exactly what Alice thought it was... "No.." ..when she woke up in the same bed that she had been in before it all happened. "That's not fair." She was back in the palace where the dream started. "What's not fair?" But that wasn't a dream. "Dad?" Because James Brandt was right there in the room with her. "DAD!" Within seconds she jumped out of her bed and into his arms. "Oof! Whoa.. there. Go easy on your old man." He chuckled. "Dad.. it's you.. isn't it?" Alice interrupted her own exhilaration briefly to check if she was had the right James Brandt. "Of course. Oh you mean.. No no. Don't worry. I am the right guy, heheh." There was another James Brandt out there, James was told. Frankly he did not need that kind of confusion on his mind right now. "Thank you.." Alice felt like she could cry and laugh at the same time. "Hey. I should be thanking you.."

From outside the room, Eric was watching their little happy moment. His own mother chose to take a nap in his room, as she sorely needed it after all those near sleepless nights in Phoebe's prison. "What is happening here?" A palace guard approached him at this point. "Oh.. nothing. Just a little family reunion." Eric replied. "I see; your friend woke up. A bit of a coincidence." The man said. "Coincidence?" Eric raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Your other friends at the infirmary are waking up too, one of them asked for Iria. I could not find her though." So he came to them instead. But Eric could not exactly tell him when Iria was coming back. "Oh! And they aren't going crazy?" The guard shook his head. "Ah. That's good news then! I don't know where Iria is. But I can go check them out." Eric was definitely curious now. It seemed safe to go. Maybe they really were free from the fusion guild's influence now. _"I wish. With those guilds, you never know."_

...

"Hey, she did it to herself, there's nothing you could have done." For a while now, Adamant gazed down at the world below. The leader of the fusion guild was somewhere down there, and she was, in all likelihood, no longer alive. "Why was there no barrier to catch her?" The fact that this airborne base lacked no measures to prevent such accidents mystified Iria. "Probably because people don't work here! Case in point." There was a reason Stonewell was trying to get Adamant to move. The defenders of the Ark; the Templars, were closing in on their position. "Where's the door anyway?" There had to be an entrance to this place. There wouldn't be a landing strip here if they didn't sometimes get human visitors. "They will show us." Iria walked the other way, towards the flying drones. "They will have to." She held out a card for all of them to see and scan. "Wha.. they stopped?" The Templars froze in mid-air as soon as the lead drone had analyzed the card in Iria's hand. **"MILLENNIUM SEAL IDENTIFIED. ACCESS GRANTED."** They turned around and flew back to wherever they spawned from. "That card again?"

"Uno gave it to me." Iria showed them the golden non-dueling card with the eye of Wadjet as its image. "So it actually worked this time?" Last time it didn't Uno many favors. "It is still the royal symbol for the Union and its key officials. We should be immune to the templars.. most of them." The two that attacked before were clearly aberrations. "I believe it will also.." Iria traced the card across a panel on the wall. ".. give us passage into the heart of the Ark." Hidden computers scanned the Millennium card and slid a previously undetectable door open. "Adamant. Are you going to stay here, or come with us?" Iria didn't want to be delayed, he could stay and guard the plane if he wanted. "With you." He decided. The duelist knew he couldn't do any good with inaction. "What's done is done."

So they went through the gate, through a long corridor and arrived at what seemed to be the core. Behind one door was a large round chamber, with a massive computer at the center. It was connected to glowing tubes that spread out across the ceiling like tree branches. "This must be it." Iria approached one of the consoles and switched it on. A large screen above showed up, revealing bars, graphs, stats and the image of one inmate. "?" It was the woman who tried to steal the pendulum. "Their latest inmate. It seems they finished a memory scan on her and could not find anything incriminating. She is scheduled to be released later today." That was good news, but not what they came here for. The disciple dove into the data. "August is stored in here too, indefinitely." She saw his profile once she flipped back a few pages. "But what about Tory? Is she here?" Stonewell did not think they needed anything from whoever that guy was. "There is a 'Tori Santos' here. She was sent to physical interrogation." Iria said as she checked her status. "That's her! What does that mean?"

"You will probably find her above or below. Start looking." Iria tossed the Millennium Seal to Adamant. "I am staying here." She moved to a panel in the wall and pulled it. "What are you going to do?" Adamant inquired. "To see if I can find 'discrepancies'." Rows and rows of cards; the remaining prisoners of this facility stored like digital corpses in a morgue. "Go." She would be busy here for some time. "Alright."

Adamant and Stonewell returned to the corridor went the other direction. "Which way? Should we split up?" There were stairs going up and down. "We are weaker by ourselves. We need to choose.." Adamant closed his eyes and listened. "Upwards." He could hear faint noises in that direction. "You got it!" Stonewell raced up the stairs until he reached a door. "I think you were on to something!" A lot of sounds were coming from behind the door. "Yes." Adamant placed the golden card in front of the door, and it slid open. "Tory?" They rushed inside, coming across a rounded corridor this time. It formed a ring around a large room, which they could look down at through one-way mirror glass. "There!" Down there were two duelists, a templar drone hooked up to a computer, and Tory. "Hey! Tory! We're here!" Stonewell yelled. Yet she did not seem to hear him. "These windows are soundproof." Adamant noted. "Damn it. What are they doing to her? Why are they making her duel?"

Tory's LP: 8000 Chemist's LP: 8000

Indeed they were, two turns passed already. Tory controlled Abyss Actor Superstar(7/2500/1800) and two Abyss Actors in the pendulum zone (Evil Heel, Funky Comedian). The opponent controlled an ox(2/0/2100) made from transparent green plastic and a field spell. Chemicritter Oxy Ox was a gemini-monster, which meant its effects were not unlocked yet. **"ACTIVATE EFFECT OF CATALYST FIELD. NORMAL SUMMON OXY OX AGAIN."** But by using the power of its electric fieldspell, any controlled gemini monster could be summoned again to unseal its effects. **"OXY OX CAN SPECIAL SUMMON ONE GEMINI MONSTER FROM THE HAND, AND EQUALIZE THE LEVELS OF ALL MONSTERS TO THE SUMMONED MONSTER."** The beasts ignited its horns of fire and caused water to trickle down. **"SPECIAL SUMMON POLY-CHEMICRITTER HYDRAGON."** The water was captured within the clear body of a four-headed dragon(8/200/2800). Its level was passed on to the Ox(8/0/2100). **"XYZ-SUMMON THE VOLA-CHEMICRITTER: METHYDRACO."** The Hydrogen and Oxygen beasts overlayed, merging their elements to form a horned and winged chimeric beast(8/3000/3000) of various colors.

"Now I am no chemist, but that doesnt seem right." Tory quipped. She still possessed some spirit left after all these repeated trials. **"WHEN XYZ-SUMMONED, METHYDRACO SPECIAL SUMMONS ONE GEMINI MONSTER FROM THE GRAVEYARD. POLY-CHEMICRITTER DIOXOGRE"** A monster that had been played before in this duel came back now; the half ox/crab mutant Dioxogre(8/2800/200). Luckily its usually destructive effect was sealed as long as it wasn't normal summoned again. Catalyst Field could not activate its effect twice in one turn. **"BATTLE."** Still, Tory's Abyss Actor Superstar(7/2500/1800) was no match for the Methane mutant. It crushed the unfortunate actor with its crab pincers. Meanwhile Chemical Beast Dioxogre smacked its tail into Tory with a direct attack. "Gaahhh!" The enemy was clearly using solid visions. "Tory!" Stonewell couldn't watch anymore and slammed against the glass plate. "It is no use. She cannot hear us." Adamant grunted. This form of interrogation was very irregular.

Tory's LP: 4700

"Tch. You think I will break just from that? Your mistake was giving me a fighting chance, buddy." Tory's turn; she drew one card. "You wanted me to finish this quickly right? Then I will!" She normal summoned another Abyssal Actor, the Sassy Rookie(4/1700/1000). "I activate Evil Heel's effect!" The muscular pendulum demon tributed the Sassy Actor. Afterwards one of the opponents monsters would lose attackpoints equal to the attackpoints of the tribute. **"METHYDRACO PREVENTS TARGETING ON OTHER CHEMICRITTERS."** The machine explained. "Yeah... yeah I know." She targeted Methydraco(1300/3000). "Just stop talking! I'd rather listen to Silver than you... Pendulum summon!" With Evil Heel (scale 1) and Funky Comedian (scale 8), Tory could pendulum summon Superstar and Sassy Rookie from the extra deck. And she also summoned Abyss Actors Wild Hope(4/1600/1200) and Leading Lady, the purple skinned and blue pigtail-haired diva(4/1500/1000) from her hand. "I activate Superstar's effect!" Thanks to the lead male actor, Tory could get one of their script spells from the deck and set it down. "I choose Abyss Script - Resurrection at the Climax! And I flip it!" The spell affected her entourage. "Here you go, 400 points of damage for each Abyss Actor!" All four monsters released a bolt of lighting that struck the enemy.

Chemist's LP: 5600

 _Abyss Script - Resurrection at the Climax, Normal Spell_  
 _Your opponent loses 400 LP for each "Abyss Actor" monster you control._  
 _If this set card in its owner's control is destroyed by an opponent's card effect while you have a face-up "Abyss Actor" Pendulum Monster(s) in your Extra Deck:_  
 _You can special summon 1 "Abyss Actor" monster from your extra deck or graveyard. You can only use each effect of "Abyss Script - Climactic Act" once per turn._

"And that was in fact... the opening act." Tory activated two more card effects. "Wild Hope!" The gunslinging cowboy(2000/1200) gave himself 100 attackpoints for each Abyss Actor on the field as a monster. "Funky Comedian!" The heavyset fiend comedian could tribute one Abyss Actor to raise another Actors attackpoints by the tribute's own amount. "Sassy Rookie leaves the stage again!" The Rookie was sacrificed and the Superstar(4200/1800) was the one who received his power. "Attack Methydraco!" Since the Vola-Chemicritter protected all other Critters from any kind of targeting, it also had to be attacked first. That fit in right with her play. The super actor donned his sassy-rookie clothes and slapped right the XYZ-monster in its horned face.

Chemist's LP: 3500

"Aha! Now you're toast!" Her other Actors sprung into action. "Now that you took a hit, Leading Lady's effect activates! Your monster will lose attackpoints equal to the damage!" The leading lady waved her paintbrush around, splattering stars on Chemicritter Dioxogre. Superstar caused 2900 points of damage with his attack, so Dioxogre(0/200) lost everything once Leading Lady subtracted 2900 attackpoints. "Double attack!" The Heroine finished the double-oxygen mutant off with her right claw, cracking it open like glass. "Get lost!" And with a pinpoint shot from Wild Hope's gun, the remainder of the Chemist drone's lifepoints were blasted away. "How was that? A perfect victory!"

Chemist's LP: 0

 **"TWO-TURN DEFEAT ESTABLISHED. ADJUSTING LEVELS, MOVING ON TO NEXT TRIAL."** But the machine was still not satisfied. "What? No! Come on! How many more of these are you going to make me do? What's the point?" They'd been going at it for hours now, with hardly any time to rest in between. And if she did rest, it was not by choice.

Chemist's LP: 8000

Luckily, that would change. And her stroke of luck took the shape of a large explosion that blew a hole in the wall around her. "Tory!" Her rescuers dashed through the smoke; Stonewell, Adamant and a now missile-less Raidraptor Rise Falcon. "What on earth? Eric? What are you doing here? How did you.. " Tory could not quite process what was physically happening. "It's a long story. I couldn't have done it without some help." Stonewell gave a strong nod to Adamant. "First, let's get you out of this madhouse!" He tried to pull her arm, and his audacity was rewarded with a static shock. "Ngh. I can't.. I am still hooked up to this damn system. If I try to escape this place, I will just turn back into a card." Tory wailed. "What? Damn them!" Stonewell grabbed his dueldisk. "They're keeping you here, just to duel you into submission?" If they wanted a fight, they could go after him first. "I don't know! They don't even ask me questions anymore." Nothing today made sense to her. "This it not just interrogation." Adamant drew his own conclusions. "They're collecting data, duelist parameters." These trials served a different purpose. "This.. is how they create their Templars."

...

"The nerve of you people." Iria was still checking storage, when her darker reflection popped into existence. "Hello Silver." Iria lukewarmly greeted the hologram. The two Silvers had the same way of dealing with long-distance problems it seemed. And Silver had a lot to say. "I told you to stay out of this. One only enters this facility when there's a problem or malfunction the Templars cannot deal with. You only could have gotten in here with a golden seal. So I can only assume lord Nisell decided to second-guess his inquisitor." The Inquisitor narrowed her eye. "What do you think you can do? Really, the sad thing is that you came all this way for nothing. I already checked the database. Everything is where it should be." She scoffed. "Maybe. Or maybe there is something you overlooked, something you cannot find unless you're here in person. Sometimes a hands-on-approach just works better. You can either let me continue, or challenge me. I am sure lord Uno would approve of the latter."

"Ho. Now there's the determination I was hoping to see from my supposed counterpart. But it is misplaced. There is nothing that my eye could have missed, that yours..." Silver's eye was drawn towards one card. The same card Iria was looking at. "A card that shouldn't be here, perhaps?" Iria pulled it out from the end of the rack. "That's not possible. The computer has no record on this card.." It was an anonymous card, identifiable only by the face on the image. "Then someone wanted to hide this here, and keep it off the grid." Iria turned the card around. "..!" Her hands trembled. "I knew it.." It was a face only she would recognize, it was Master Dom. "Impossible." The Inquisitor was speechless. "Silver. Tell me how to reverse the process!" Iria wanted to know, now. "Hmph.. insert the card into the top slot of the computer. I will do the rest." Silver shared her interest in this one instance. This card was here, when every digital record said otherwise. "You had better do so." The disciple placed the card inside the machine. The holographic Inquisitor then started some sort of process which made the wires glow orange and yellow. "His energy has been collected, he should appear now."

One of the lights on the ceiling shot a beam down to the floor. Much like how a dueldisk materialized a monster card, a human figure materialized in this beam. "Master.." He was back in all his glory; in his dazzling glitter coat, his flashy gloves and popped collar. All he lacked was his dome-mask. His face was fully revealed, wavy black hair, long mustache and blue eyes. "Master Dom!" She shouted again. He turned to her. "..Master? Why are you calling me that? Who are you?" Her face fell. "Who.. am I? Sir.. this is not the time to make jokes." Dom often played the fool, yet she knew he had a serious side. "Lady. That was no joke. I would know if I met you before." And he was serious. He did not recognize her. "This is the man you looked for all this time? Hah. Now that is a good joke." Silver laughed.

...

 _"Figures. Finally get some time off, and the thing wont work!_ " What good was a communicator if the place he was trying to reach could not receive messages? Of course none of them knew that beforehand, but it looked like Uno would not be able to get in touch with Iria until they returned from the Facility. "you look so worried, Uno. i wish you would tell me more about those worries." Naturally, family was never far away. After the tour, Marco returned to the throne room for the latest round of discussions. Anastasia never really left his side. "It's a lot of things really. My friends on one hand, this whole place on the other." This girl had some disarming effect on her. He felt like he could tell her anything she wanted to hear. "I don't think I should try to be what Marco wants me to be. I've lost that." He couldn't remember a single thing he learned today. "that was.. who you were before too. you never were interested in controlling the union. marco is trying to help you in his way, but maybe he doesn't see that your power falls elsewhere." She placed her hand on his chest. "how was it, your duel against that thief?"

"Ehr.. " He backed up a bit. "Okay? I guess? I didn't need the pendulum to win. I still had.. wait." He remembered now. "When I summoned Enlightenment Paladin, I felt strange... groggy. I thought maybe that was because I wasn't using the pendulum at the time. But now I don't know." He took the card out from his pocket. "did this happen before? if the cards are making you feel ill, then they want to tell you something." Her words had a familiar ring to them. "Yeah. When I used an XYZ-monster, the same thing happened. But.." Maybe it was time to come clean with her, about the Prophecy sisters. Now that Alice had seen them too, their secret couldn't be kept for much longer anyway. "you want me to help you?" Anastasia had her own proposal though. "Help me? Like the last time?" It sounded like another duel offer. "like all times. let me do this, uno. i already told you,.. the spiritual road can take you to your past, not the material. father would have agreed."

He looked at her and back at the throne room in the distance. "..I guess I am a lousy prince." He needed more, to learn more about this power inside him and the pendulum. He had to figure out how to do what Tempus could do. Uno was telling himself that, that it was all needed to save everyone. But there was a part of him, that also wanted it. "Let's do it."

(To be Continued in Redux 054: Master and Apprentice)

 **New Cards used by Tory  
** Abyss Actor - Leading Lady

 _-  
Abyss Script - Resurrection at the Climax_

 **Cards used by 'The Chemist'  
** Chemicritter Oxy Ox  
Poly-Chemicritter Hydragon  
Poly-Chemicritter Dioxogre

-  
Vola-Chemicritter Methydraco

-  
Catalyst Field


	37. Master and Disciple

**Redux 54: Master and Disciple**

The good news kept coming this day. "Zach. You're really up? Awesome!" First he got his mother back, now the other disciple was recovering from Martel's enslavement. "'Up' may not.. be the best word to use here.. eheh." Zachary Creffield was conscious, but he seemingly lacked the strength to move away from his bed. "You're not hurting are you?" Alice asked. When Eric told her about Zach waking up, she quickly decided to tag along with him. "Oh no. Nothing like that. I am just... very very tired." He let out a long weary moan. "Hey. Do you remember anything from.. you know." Eric realized that this was a touchy subject. He just felt it was better to get these things out in the open. "Martel? Not.. everything.. It was like a dream, like I was watching someone who looked like me do things I'd never want to do. Iria.." He definitely remembered words and images from his duel with her. "Where is she? She's not mad at me is she?" He was hoping she didn't hold that skirmish against her. "Doing something with Adamant. It's just us two." Alice sighed. "Uno is.. also busy. It's a long.. really long story."

"You.." Another voice called out from behind the curtains. "Huh? Someone else was awake too?" The guard hadn't specified the number. "It's him." Alice gasped as she saw the boy who attacked her before, sitting on his bed. "Guh. He's still here?" Eric panicked. "No. I wont attack you!" Bishop immediately shouted. "Uhr.. I mean.. I can't." He tapped the air in front of him, causing a spark to fly off. "Ah. Forcefields." He was a prisoner more than a patient. "But.. you seem better. They're still holding you here?" Alice didn't see any of the madness that haunted him before. "Where would I go? I still can't remember my name. I am not better at all." The boy sulked. "You were one of us? You don't remember.. But I do. It should come back." Even in his condition, Zach wanted to lift Bishop's spirits up. "Maybe. I don't know. I was his for so long. I don't hear him anymore, but I still see him if I close my eyes." He shuddered and rubbed his arms. "Hey. can we do anything to help?" Eric asked him. "Just. stay away from Martel. The longer he has you, the more you lose yourself.. maybe forever."

...

"Sir.. It's me. Iria Silver; your disciple!" The way she imagined her reunion with her master would be, was far removed from the present truth. "Silver? Sounds like the name of the girl who got me in this mess!" He did not recognize her, not in the way she wanted. "You're.. talking about the Inquisitor? Silver, why doesn't he remember me?" If this was an after-effect of the decarding process, then she should have been told. "I cannot explain this. Memory loss has never been a symptom for those we released. This man shouldn't even be here." The Inquisitor was as perplexed as Iria, but not as horrified. "Okay. Can one of you explain me why there's two of you?" Seeing two very similar Iria's wasn't helping Doms come to terms with the situation either. "It's me, master Dom. I am the Iria from your dimension. She is the one from this world." She talked to him, but he clearly was not getting a single word. "...Sir. Do you remember Dreamworld, Uno, anything at all?"

"I remember who I am.. Dom; Duelist extraordinaire!"

"Duelist?" Stranger and stranger; he did not lose everything to do with himself. "Now I don't know about you lady. But if I am here it must mean I served my time. I'm getting out of here. Where is the exit?" He looked around absentmindedly. ".. You can't just leave." Iria protested. "I agree." Silver snapped her fingers and caused all the doors to come down. "What?" The computer itself was sealed behind a barrier as well. "I know you're not alone. Your friends have already caused damage upstairs. Until I get to the bottom of this, I cannot have any of you fooling around." The Inquisitor switched off her own hologram, leaving just the two locked inside the computer room. "So. This is a set-up is it? You two are in cahoots with each other!" Dom took it well. "No, sir.. Dom. We are not. I would never go against you." She understood his confusion, she looked exactly like his actual jailer. "So you say you're my apprentice or something? I don't remember ever taking an apprentice.. But.." Dom snapped his arm outwards, causing a dueldisk to unfold. "If you are, then you should have no trouble keeping up with yours truly!"

Dom's LP: 8000 Iria's LP: 8000

"Sir?" He was forcing a challenge on her? She wasn't ready for that at all. "Should have been faster, lady!" Dom drew five cards and claimed the first turn. "My first monster, Legion the Fiend Jester!" A jester marionette(4/1300/1500) crouched down before Dom. "Legion will let me tribute summon one spellcaster from my hand. And if he leaves the field to go to the graveyard, I also get to add a normal-spellcaster monster from the deck to my hand!" Dom sacrificed the Fiend Jester after his little explanation, for a wellknown magician. "Say hi to Dark Magician Girl!" It was the apprentice of dark magic herself(6/2000/1700). "And Dark Magician!" With the Jesters effect, Dom added a Dark Magician card. "Not this one though." A spell card was played next. "But this one. I activate Sage's Stone! Because I have the Dark Magician Girl on my field, I can summon the Dark Magician from my deck!" The girl used the Sage magic to call upon her teacher, the original Dark Magician(7/2500/2100). "If you're my pupil, then you should be well aware of these two!" Dom placed one spell and one trap card down and ended his turn.

"I am." Dark Magician had been his deck of choice in the past, before the pendulums came. "Dom? What do you still remember? What happened after you got to this world?" It was as if only the last few years of his mind had been erased. "You mean before all this tomfoolery? Well I was just minding my own business, proving myself to the best in the field. When your Templars snatched me up and put me in here. I was just trying to become the world champion of dueling! I don't even recall what the charges were, just that they were preposterous and clearly false! Also, I am affraid I have no idea what you're talking about with 'this world'. This is my world, last time I checked." He wouldn't know, he hadn't seen the outside. "Sir.." This was worse than Iria had anticipated. Doms memories were not just taken away, they were scrambled. How did this happen? Who found him when he got to this world? ".. in that case. This duel must continue." Since it apparently worked for Uno sometimes, it might work for Dom too. "It is my turn!"

"The field spell, Magical Mid-Breaker field. Now card effects cannot be target or destroy monsters during a players main phase." This effect would protect her cards for now. "I can special summon this monster, Escher the Frost Vassal, from my hand because you control two spell or trap cards." The meditating servant(4/800/1000) of the ice emperor floated down before Iria. He served a different element this turn though. "I tribute it to normal summon Raiza the Storm Monarch! When tribute summoned, Raiza will return one monster on the field to the deck!" The wind monarch(6/2400/1000) created a violent storm upon arrival. That storm captured the Dark Magician and blew him back into Doms deck. "Well that's not good." Dom moped. "Raiza attacks Dark Magician Girl!" The emperor destroyed the magic apprentice with a more focused blast of wind. "That was my turn, sir Dom."

Dom's LP: 7600

"Cut it out with the sirs; it doesn't sound right at all." Dom sighed. "That aside, you got a nice set-up there. I can't say its very original though. I mean Mid-Breaker Field's own art suggests you combine it with Monarchs!" It was his main phase now, so his monsters were now protected by her field. Monarchs usually didnt affect anything in the opponents turn anyway. "But here's a surprise for you! Magician Navigation!" Dom flipped his trap. "With this card I can summon a Dark Magician from my hand, and another level 7 or lower dark-spellcaster from my deck!" His second Dark Magician(7/2500/2100) flew in through a portal of black magic. "I choose the Dark Magician Girl!" The apprentice(6/2000/1700) was right behind her master.

"Now for my next trick, I will need another rod; The Magicians Rod!" Dom normal summoned a hovering magic rod(3/1600/100), held by an invisible magician specter. "Magicians Rod will choose one spell in my deck, that namedrops the Dark Magician specifically. I can then take that card!" Dom chose a card called; Dark Burning Magic. "Your Mid-Breaker spell cannot save your monsters this turn! When I control both Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, all cards on your field will be destroyed by Dark Burning Magic!" The spell was played and the two mages crossed their rods to rain down black bolts of dark magic upon Raiza and Iria's field spell. "Ah!" She was wide open. "Here comes the battle phase! I attack you directly with all my mages!" Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl and Magicians Rod combined their powers once more to strike Iria with a storm of black thunder and light. "This is how yours truly duels, miss Silver! I end this turn! You will only get one more!"

Iria's LP: 1900

"Sir. If you think that I would give up that easily." As soon as Iria could, she activated the spell she drew in her draw phase. "Then you truly do not know me! I activate The Monarchs Storm Forth and take your Magician!" The Dark Magician was removed from the field, used as a tribute for one of Iria's monsters. "Again?" Dark Magician Girl(2300/1700) gained 300 attackpoints now that her master was in the graveyard. Yet, without the Dark Magician by her side, there wouldn't be any more combos to make. "I tribute summon Mobius the Frost Monarch!" And the emperor of frost(6/2400/1000) could destroy up to two spell or trap cards upon its tribute summon anyway. His face-down spell was shattered. "I activate the Seal of Orichalcos!" A new spell took over the field, the atlantian circle of orichalcos. It added 500 attackpoints to all of Iria's monsters. "Mobius attacks Magician's Rod!" The empowered Frost Monarch(2900/1000) killed the Rod by imprisoning it within a pillar of ice.

Dom's LP: 6300

"Now that was a little more impressive. Still, you have a lot to catch up on. I can't even consider you my disciple if you can't beat me." Dom chuckled. "Then do what you must. It is your turn." Iria grunted. She was not seeing any improvement so far. "Haha! Excellent. I will show you more of that Dom touch!" He put on a big grin as he activated Wonder Wand. "I equip this spell to a spellcaster, my Magician Girl!" The girl(2800/1700) gained 500 attackpoints from her new wand. "Then I can tribute her, to draw two cards! Sorry my dear, your services are no longer required!" The Magician Girl jumped into the graveyard at his command. The Wonder Wand cracked and drew two cards from Doms deck. "Are you mocking me?" Iria could not help but draw some symbolic conclusions from this act. "Sorry. I am a one man show, always have been, always will be!" Dom placed one of his new cards in the spell/trap zone and ended his turn.

"Tgh." Iria took her turn. "I activate Pantheism of the Monarchs." She would need to be careful. "I discard a Monarch spell or trap-card from my hand to draw two cards." She discarded Strike of the Monarchs. "Then I banish Pantheism from my graveyard. Doing so will add one of three Monarch-cards to my hand. You choose what is added, sir Dom." Iria revealed three cards from her deck; Domain of the True Monarchs, The First Monarch and Tenacity of the Monarchs. "My choice eh? Well, The First Monarch seems the least painful." He picked the card in the middle. "Very well." Iria placed that one in her hand. "Then I shall now.. attack directly!" Mobius pulled up a series of ice blades from the floor, to form a destructive path towards the opponent.

"I sure hope you didn't think that that would work!" Dom pumped his fist as he activated his face-down spell card. "Dark Magic Inheritance! For just two spells in the grave, I can add a spell with Dark Magician's or Dark Magician Girl's name in it, from the deck to my hand!" A magic seal popped up, banishing the two Dark Burning Magic spells from the graveyard. "Dark Magical Circle!" Doms 'inheritance' was a continuous spell. "Also, when a spell is activated during my opponents turn, I can summon the Magician of Dark Illusion from my hand in defense mode!" The lingering black magic in the room converged and formed a humanoid shape; it was a shadowy illusion(7/2100/2500) of the original Dark Magician. "My attack continues!" Still, Mobius could deal with that. "Your mistake, missy. I activate Magician Navigation from my graveyard!" Dom banished the trap from the cemetery. "While I control a Dark Magician, and I do because the Magician Illusion treats his name as 'Dark Magician', Magician Navigation can negate one spells effect on the field!" The Shadow mage cast a darkening spell upon the Orichalcos seal, nullifying Mobius(2400/1000)' powerboost for one turn. "Hmph." Mobius rammed into the Magician, and was pushed back by its defense.

Iria's LP: 1800

"I'm surprised you even fell for that! So much for my training paying off, huh?" Dom continued to laugh it up while his opponent placed two cards in the spell/trap zone. "But I think I have seen enough. Not that it wasn't fun, but It's time to move on! My turn!" Dom activated the inherited spell. "Dark Magical Circle, reveal the top three of my deck!" Three cards were excavated. If one of those three listed Dark Magician in its effect, as its name, it would be placed in Doms hand. "Aha! Dark Magic Expanded!" A quickplay spell fulfilled those requirements. "Now that I've used a spell, the Magician of Illusions can special summon Dark Magician from the graveyard! Only once though!" The shadowmage began its chant to summon its fallen original. The Dark Magician was raised from the dead. "And when a Dark Magician is summoned within the Dark Magical Circle." The continuous spell glowed fiercely. "One card on the field is banished!" Dark Magician drew power from the Circle into his rod and unleashed a banishment spell upon Mobius. The Frost Monarch was sucked into another dimension.

"And there's my opening!" Dom followed it up with his recently acquired spell card. "Dark Magic Expanded! This beauty gets more effects for each Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl I used! There's two Magicians on my field and one Girl in my graveyard, so I get all three effects!" A powerful energy barrier rose up from a magic circle and engulfed his monsters. "One! A Dark Magician will get 1000 attackpoints for one turn! Two! None of my spells can be stopped or destroyed this turn! Three! None of my dark spellcasters can be hurt by effects this turn! What I am trying to say is, I win! My Dark Magician! Attack. Strike her lifepoints down!" There was no trap or spell that could stop the Dark Magician(3500/2100) now. "Trap card! The First Monarch!" But that did not mean Iria was defenseless. "I summon this trap as a monster!" The First Monarch appeared on the field as a shadowy emperor(6/1500/2400) on his throne. "You gotta wake up a lot earlier to surprise me, missy! One of those wont save you!"

"Look again, sir Dom." But she had summoned the trap Monarch in attack position. "Wha-huh-now?" Even with the powerboost from the Seal of Orichalcos, she couldn't survive an attack this way. "One will not stop you. What about two?" Unless she had another First Monarch trap to spring on him. "Whoa!" The second shadowed emperor(6/1500/2400) joined the first, also in attack position. "Dark Magician!?" And Doms master was paralyzed, by the light of Orichalcos. "Seal of Orichalcos. When two attack-position monsters are on the field, I cannot attack the weaker one." Dom realized why she had put her monsters in attack position. "You clever fox. You went for the old marauding captain lock!" Both First Monarchs were the 'weaker' monster. Neither could be attacked, because the field affected the player and not the monsters. "Okay. You surprised me.. Maybe there's hope for your story after all, Disciple Iria."

...

The duelists one floor up had a different kind of luck with finishing their opponents. It simply didn't matter as the machine kept setting up new virtual opponents for them to duel. "Can't we just blow that thing up?" Stonewell suggested, he was getting tired of this ordeal. "Yeah if you want me to glitch out, sure!" Tory snapped, since she had no idea what damage to the place would do to her. "How sickeningly noble." And they weren't the only ones tired of this show. "Silver!" Stonewell yelled as her hologram appeared in the room. "You have some explaining to do! How can you make Tory, everyone, go through this? To Tory? Why wasn't she released yet? Even old prisons weren't this bad!" Stonewell wanted nothing more than to tear this place down. "Prisons take up unnecessary space, physical bodies tend to not want to cooperate with interrogation. I sort of miss the old days as well, but this makes it much simpler for both parties. Why didn't I release your friend.." The hologram placed her hand placed on Stonewells shoulder. "She still had information to give to me."

"What!? You.. she's still.." Stonewell tried to slap her hand away, but she held on firmly. "Let him go!" Tory yelled. "Tss. You may have the lords fooled, but I know better. You're not just kids playing harmless pranks, you are working for someone. Perhaps you are even part of the same problem. It's only Lord Fortuno's grace that has kept you from ending up here.. the Tory girl was too strong, maybe your friend can tell me more." Stonewell was here now, after all. "He doesn't know either!" Tory pried her away from Eric successfully. "Inquisitor, is this your Unions answer to prisoners? Does the founding family know about this?" Adamant hurled his outrage at her as well now. "What they don't know won't hurt them. Unlike you." Silver just brushed his accusations off. "What you know, can save you. Waving a golden seal around is not going to stop me from doing my job. And I am very tired of asking nicely. So.. You will tell me everything about your superiors, or you will never leave this place again. An easy choice to make, if you ask me."

(To be Continued in Redux 053: Against Better Judgment)

 **New Cards used by Iria Silver  
** Escher the Frost Vassal

-  
Magical Mid-Breaker Field

-  
The First Monarch

 **New Cards used by 'Dom'  
** Legion the Fiend Jester  
Dark Magician Girl  
Magicians Rod  
Magician of Dark Illusion

-  
Sage's Stone  
Dark Burning Magic  
Dark Magic Inheritance  
Dark Magical Circle  
Dark Magic Expanded

-  
Magician Navigation


	38. Against Better Judgment

**Redux 53: Against Better Judgment**

In the middle of Uno's sparring session with his sister, a servant walked in. "Lord Uno. Your friend requested your presence in the infirmary. It would seem one of your guests has awoken." He was sent here by Eric, to share the happy news. "Oh? Zach's better? That's great!" Uno was tempted to go and see him right away. "uno.." But he was still dueling his sister, training his powers. "if you stop now, you wont learn anything." Progress with the pendulum had been slow so far. "Yeah. I know. But.." It was unfortunate, but he could not go. "What should I tell them?" The servant requested. "Tell him.. that I was busy. And give him this." He handed the man the communicator. "He will know what to do with it." At the very least he could make sure Adamant had someone to reach if he called. "Very well, milord." The servant excused himself and left the two in the hall. "Lord.. yeesh'." Uno shuddered. "you still are not used to it? you shouldn't worry. you have a family and that you have friends.. that wont change just because you're a lord."

"Yeah. I guess." Uno smiled. He was happy to have friends, but a whole world of them was too much. If only he knew why 'Tempus' dropped this legacy on him.

...

Dom's LP: 6300 Iria's LP: 1800

"You got me there, that's a fine trick." Seal of Orichalcos and two First Monarchs(6/1500/2400) with the same attackpoints kept Doms Dark Magician(3500/2100) from declaring a decisive attack. "But it's gonna take more than that to change my mind. And my mind is very solid." He tapped the side of his temple. "Huh. Feels weird.. I'm missing something. A hat maybe? Oh well." Dom placed the Dark Magician on top of the Illusion Magician(7/2100/2500). "An XYZ-summon?" So her master had not lost his inclination towards XYZ-monsters either. "You bet! I XYZ-summon my rank 7 Ebon High Magician!" The shadow and the original merged. Their armor gained a midnight-blue and purple tint, while their staff increased in size and housed a bright red gem. This was the dark magician of void(7/2300/2800). "Be honest, you like it dont you?" Dom placed a trap card and ended his turn.

"If I am to be honest, sir. The shape and form of a card never much mattered to me." Iria drew her next card, also a trap card. "..." It wouldn't help her break the stalemate, her trap Monarchs could not attack or be switched to defense. She placed the trap down and finished her turn. "Is that right? Well I appreciate the candor, but I don;t see why.. if I ever went about hiring disciple, I would pick you." Dom started his turn, and his deck did not give him a way out of this lock either. "Hrm. It's been a while since someone made me pass a turn. Looks like we're equally matched as duelists at least. Your move, lady Iria."

"You did not hire me for my passion for the game, sir. You hired Zachary Creffield to cover that aspect." She mentioned his name, even though Dom likely did not remember him either. "You took me in, because you needed a voice a reason. That is what you told me. You didn't want someone who would just agree with everything you suggested, you wanted someone who could say no." She was doing that even now, she was saying no to his new reality. "But.. I did come to accept a certain joy in this game, over time. A preference for style, as Zach would say." That was the reason why she stopped using pendulum cards. Her counterpart did not seem to have a problem with them though. "It does make for a great story, Dom the perfect duelist starting his own company to make the game even more exciting! But none of that sounds like me.. I wouldn't know the first thing about running a business." Dom shook his head. "That is exactly why you hired us, sir. You can do more than you think." She drew her next card. At last, it was a monster.

".. By activating Strike of the Monarchs from my graveyard, a monsters attribute will be altered into one of my choosing!" Strike of the Monarchs banished itself and targeted one of the First Monarchs, turning it into a wind-attribute monster. "Then I activate Return of the Monarchs." The continuous spell would play another keyrole in this duel. "And my two monsters are tributed!" The first First Monarch and the second were removed, leaving behind one empty throne. "Raiza the Mega Monarch!" The throne was claimed by the ultimate form of the stormking, Mega Raiza(8/3300/1000). As she had completed a tribute summon, Return of the Monarchs allowed her to add a monster with 2800 or 2400 attackpoints and 1000 defense points to her hand. With that spell, she claimed Caius the Mega Monarch. First though it was the season of the Storm Monarch.

"Now that Mega Raiza has been tribute summoned, one card on the field and one card in the graveyard will be returned to their masters deck!" Her targets were Dark Magical Circle and Magician's Rod. The continuous spell and the rod monster were exiled from the field and graveyard respectively. "And when a wind-attribute monster was used as one of the tributes for this normal summon, Mega Raiza can return another card on the field to a players hand! I choose the XYZ-monster: Ebon High Magician!" Naturally XYZ-cards could not go to a players hand, so Ebon High would be moved back to the extra deck instead. "Oh? I don't think he's gonna go anywhere, Iria!" Yet Dom countered with a spell from his hand. "Ebon High Magician can activate spells from my hand once each turn! I activate another Dark Magic Expanded!" The XYZ-magician detached Dark Magician from its body, which meant that there were two Dark Magician Girls and one Dark Magician in the graveyard again. "Dark Magic Expanded activates all three of its effects!" The expansive spell powered up Ebon High(3300/2800) and made it immune to the effects of the Monarch's storm.

"... I end my turn." Though the two monsters were now made equally strong, Iria knew better than to attack Ebon High and leave herself wide open. "Not going to attack? I can't blame you!" The turn fell back to him and the effects of Dark Magic Expanded abandoned the High Mage(2300/2800). "Looks like I'll have to do it myself!" He entered the battle phase. Ebon High fired a bolt of magic at Raiza. The emperor deflected the blast and caused the XYZ-spellcaster to be destroyed by his own attack. "Excellent. When Ebon High is destroyed, I can special summon a Dark-spellcaster from my deck.. and destroy one card on the field! I summon the Dark Magician of Chaos!" The evolved form of the dark mage, the leather-bound Magician of Chaos(8/2800/2600) emerged from the main deck. "And destroy The Seal!"

Dom's LP: 5300

"The Seal of Orichalcos?" The field spell shattered, causing Mega Raiza(2800/2000) to lose its powerboost. "Now while we're still in the proper phase, Dark Magician of Chaos can attack the Monarch!" He was going for mutual destruction. "Not when I use this trap card!" She didn't know what exactly he was planning, but it couldn't be any good. "Lose 1 Turn! That monster you special summoned is switched to defense mode, and cannot activate its effects this turn!" Her continuous trap forced it to defense mode right after it appeared. "Ah, so I wont be taking back any spells either this turn?" The Chaos mage usually returned one spell from the graveyard to the main deck during the endphase. "Strange. You keep avoiding my traps, even the not-obvious ones. You act like you know me, but that's.. just not possible." Now all Dom could do was place a trap down and let his turn end the normal way. "It is sir. A lot is possible. You knew that once.. In fact I was the nonbeliever of us three. You helped me.."

"So I will help you, for as long as I can! I summon Caius the Mega Monarch!" Since Mega Monarchs could be tribute summoned just by sacrificing one tribute summoned monster, she could offer Mega Raiza for Mega Caius(8/2800/1000). "He banishes one card on the field, and if it is a dark-type monster, you take 1000 points of damage!" The ultimate emperor of darkness banished the magician of black and white magic. "Dang." The wake of the blast struck dom as well. "I will attack you directly!" An even larger black hole of magic was formed by Mega Caius, to strike Dom with. "Then I activate my permanent trap, Eternal Soul! Once each turn, it special summons Dark Magician from my hand or graveyard!" A stone slab arose, with the image of a dark mage carved into it. The first Dark Magician(7/2500/2100) was resurrected once again, but forced into defense mode by Iria's Turnskipping trap. "No matter how many blockades you put up sir, I will still get to you! I know who you are!" The black hole sucked up the Magician instead. Iria placed another trap card down and moved to her endphase.

Dom's LP: 4300

However she could not yet physically end her turn. "Well maybe I am not a fan of the guy you think I am! I activate Final Geas!" Dom unveiled his earlier scheme. "Since two monsters with levels above 7 were sent to the grave this turn, Final Geas will banish all monsters in the graveyard!" He opened his own space-time wormhole, which absorbed all of his spellcasters and all of her emperors and vassals. "Then the spellcaster with the highest level among all those banished cards is summoned to my field! I choose the Dark Magician!" The geas rift reversed its rotation, spitting out one card. The mage's shadow returned to the field, forced to defense by Lose 1 Turn, but then switched back to attack mode as soon as Dom could begin his turn. "Eternal Soul has one more gift to give! A Thousand Knives or Dark Magic Attack spell card." The eternal trap pulled a Thousand Knives spell card from Dom's deck. "When I control Dark Magician, the Thousand Knives will destroy one monster on my opponent's field!" The Magician conjured up a dozen throwing knives in his hand and tossed them all towards Mega Caius.

"You must have known, that I could stop that." Before the knives reached their target, Iria activated a trap card. "The Monarchs Awaken! This trap negates my tribute summoned monsters effects, but it also has become immune to your effects this turn!" The knives bounced harmlessly off of the dark emperor. "I suspected something, just not something permanent." Dom eyed the other card in his hand, a spell that was useless now. "You expected a monarch who could be tribute summoned during your turn." Previously when Iria tribute summoned Mega Caius, she used Return of the Monarchs to claim a special Monarch from her deck.. "It will only leave my hand now, Ehther the Heavenly Monarch!" As Dom relinquished control to her, she could sacrifice the tribute summoned Mega Monarch, for an even higher member of the hierarchy. It was Ehther, the angelic emperor(8/2800/1000) in white robes and gold armor. "When Ehther is normal summoned, she special summons one of the lower Monarchs from my deck!" Ehther invoked her powers of authority to command Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch(6/2400/1000) to appear besides her. "But your own trap.." Thestalos was switched to defense by Lose 1 Turn. It wouldn't get its effect from a special summon either.

"Thestalos is not the one you should worry about, sir! I activate Card Advance!" Iria used a spell, which shuffled the top 5 cards on top of her deck as a cost. The reward.. "Now I can normal summon one more time this turn!" Was a second tribute summon. When the Holy Monarch appeared, Return of the Monarchs brought the original Shadow Monarch, Caius, into Iria's reach. "I tribute Thestalos to tribute summon Caius the Shadow Monarch!" Fire made way for darkness, Caius(6/2400/1000) joined his shadows with the holy light of Ehther. "Nice try! But the Eternal Soul makes my Magician immune to your card's effects!" Dom was certain he would not lose to that this turn. "But does it make it immune to your own trap?" Caius did not try to banish The Dark Magician. It could banish Eternal Soul as well. "Ah.. oh.." The slab cracked and the pieces were turned to sand. "When the Eternal Soul leaves the field, all monsters you control are destroyed!" The Dark Magician turned to dust along with the trap. "Well... I didn't see that coming." He was out of things to hide behind. "You taught me well, sir." Iria took a deep breath. "The Monarchs attack!" Ehther and Caius summoned heavenly radiance and hellish clouds and sent them all out to overwhelm Master Dom. "Aaaahhh!"

Dom's LP: 0

Dom briefly shielded his face. "Oh. That didn't sting as much as I thought it would." The holograms around him were fading, his defeat was clear. "That was.. interesting. As far as I can look back, I've never lost a match. I suppose that's not true either?" While she gave him no verbal answer, her expression said enough. "I didn't think so. This doesn't feel.. unfamiliar." He closed his eyes and rubbed the temples of his head. "Okay. Say I believe you, that all of this is really happening, I own a large company in another dimension and you are my apprentice. I mean you haven't put me back in the slammer yet, so clearly you're not just a jailer with a very good acting credit on her resume. Why would someone want to make me forgot you? Why am I in here?" He was willing to listen to her for a bit, she had earned that much just by beating him. "I do not know why exactly. It could be a number of reasons. It could because you were seen as an enemy by an organization that has infiltrated the government of both world. You disappeared after you defeated their leader in a duel, perhaps they arranged to pick you up on this side and transport you here before someone else found you. And your memories were erased, because you knew too much. There is someone else, who has suffered the same effects.. Christopher Nisell."

"Yes, all very interesting." The holographic inquisitor declared, dropping in unannounced as usual. "Silver?" She was accompanied by the unlocking of the room. "Hey! Does that mean we're free to go?" Dom asked the holographic Inquisitor. "This world has no 'Dom' equivalent, you have no status here. Due to that very fact you cannot have committed a crime." The Inquisitor stated rather wryly. "So, Iria Silver. This is the man who changed your life? This buffoon is what stopped you from reaching my heights? It makes me want to 'cry'." She shook her head and sighed. "I feel fortunate that I did not end up like you, Silver! What have you done with Adamant and Stonewell?" Iria yelled. "No, we are unharmed." Three duelists walked through the opened door. "Iria. I see you have located your master." Adamant vaguely recognized the man standing behind her. "And you have found who you came for.." Iria spotted Tory. "Meaning.. you released her?" She was surprised with her other half, there had to be a catch. "I didn't need to do anything to them. They obeyed like the good little lapdogs they are." Silver said with a satisfied smirk. "You forced us! You wouldn't let Tory go unless we gave you information!" Stonewell cursed and shook his hand at her. "Information? What did you tell her?"

"We told her all we could, about the guy who has been giving us assignments." Stonewell admitted. "And you didn't need to do that for me." Tory insisted, even after the fact. "Yet he did. You should show some gratitude to the boy, little brat. I have no problem at all with throwing you back in." The Inquisitor teased viciously. "Silver. Do you believe lord Fortuno will excuse what you have done here? Not just what happened to us, but what is being done to every man and woman imprisoned in here?" Adamant refused to be intimidated. No matter what she said, they had every right to be here. "You really do not have a clue do you? The Union built the Monument, they know as much about it as you do now. The Nisells are the one who invented this technology to process a humans mind and keep it locked behind a simple card. Being trained to help create more efficient artificial intelligence is just a form of community service. Your friend 'Uno' is who you should be looking at. I hear he was the one who came up with the Templar idea." She chuckled just a little. "Uno? _He_ started all of this?" Stonewell roared.

"And.. when it comes to my own actions, I believe he will forgive me, once I tell him who the real threat was. Maybe then we can restore his memory and body to what it used to be? That would be a miracle, wouldn't it? The same can be done to you." She glared at Dom. "Uh. Okay? Do I want that?" He scratched his head. "You mean you figured out who attacked Uno and who put Dom in this facility?" Now she had caught Iria's attention. "I should thank you. I wont, but I should. You made me go and check the physical logs of each templar drone by hand.. Virtual hands that is.." She clenched her fist. "Whoever deleted the logs from the mainframe was not thorough enough to also delete the physical back-ups inside the Monument. The two drones that attacked Uno were destroyed, but the drone that was removed from his zone later that night was not. In addition, I used the information you provided." She pointed at Adamant. "You entertained a Templar three days ago, you said. For some reason, that data never reached us. Someone wanted to keep your arrival under wraps." She went on and on. "Then who did it?" Stonewell just wanted her to get to the reveal already. "Someone who makes you kids look like just a bunch of clueless runts going around smashing things..."

...

"Why is it taking so long? Dame Phoebe hasn't reported in in hours!" MC frantically paced across the hideout, waiting for a sign of life of her superior. "Perhaps she fell in battle. That would be a shame." Ichirou sat calmly on his chair and chuckled. "..That might be the only possible conclusion. Great." The woman sighed deeply. "Who would that leave in charge of your guild?" The 'leader' of the XYZ-guild saw an opportunity here. "Don't get any ideas. I still control all assets in her absence. Besides.. we both know she wasn't the real power behind all of this." MC spoke softly to avoid whoever might be listening. "But I am not hearing him come up with any new plans." Ichirou spoke a bit more openly. "No. Ngh! I wasn't ready for this. What are we supposed to do without leverage?" She cursed. "If you are open to suggestions, I can pass one on." Ichirou said with a chuckle. "At this point, I am up for anything." MC relented. "What is it?"

(To be Continued in Redux 052: As Clean as a Whistle)

 **New Cards used by Iria Silver  
** Raiza the Mega Monarch  
Ehther the Heavenly Monarch

-  
The Monarchs Awaken

 **New Cards used by 'Dom'  
** Dark Magician of Chaos

-  
Ebon High Magician

-  
Thousand Knives

-  
Eternal Soul  
Final Geas


	39. As Clean as a Whistle

**Redux 52: As Clean as a Whistle**

The monument was not a joyous place, Adamant wanted to leave as soon as possible. "You wish to come with us." He was not surprised to hear the amnesiac Dom change his mind about joining them. "Well I didn't count on this place being ten thousand feet above ground." The others were already on board the cargoship; that vehicle pretty much owned the only way out. "What about after? What will you do?" Iria was not willing to let him go either way, but it would be hard to disobey him even now. "Havent thought that far yet. Come to think of it, I really don't remember a lot of whats supposed to be out there. I could get lost, or worse! I'll stay with you guys for now. Just don't get used to it." The master then defiantly walked inside. "What a character... Let's just go before the Inquisitor changes her mind." Tory sighed. "Right." Adamant closed the doors and started the take-off process.

Soon the facility was just an ugly dot against the horizon, they could breathe easier. "We should tell Uno that we're heading back, and that we may have found out who his attacker was." Adamant took the communicator. They regained reception as soon as they got out of range of the prison. "...Eric? Where is Uno?" The one he got in contact with was not the expected party. "He was busy. Gave the radio to me. So, what's the scoop? How did your errand go?" Eric replied 'stealthily'. "... Better than expected. I believe Uno will be pleased as well. We wont be back for a while, but you should notice some developments soon." The XYZ-duelist claimed. "Why is that?" Eric was too interested to hang up now. "It is a long story.. I will keep it brief."

...

It was not often that someone like her could walk into the court of Millennium. This was only the second time Iria Silver saw the inside. "Inquisitor Silver? What is the meaning of this?" This time she was walking in on an activate conference, with representatives from around the world. "A matter has arisen that required immediate attention, my lords." And she did not enter the room by herself, a dozen templars and palace guards followed her. "You do not have the authority to..." One of the holographic ministers began to raise his voice. "Wait." He was silenced by Marco. "What is this Grand show about, my Inquisitor?" He inquired as he rested his face on his hand. "Before I continue, I must ask that all outside officials leave the room."

"Very well. We will continue this in an hour." The indignant ministers turned their holograms off one by one. This just left Marco, his advisors and the regional council. "Proceed." Marco said. "Thank you Lord Amadeus. Milord. I have recently discovered that an unknown organization is attempting to undermine the Union from within. Those include the people who tried to attack your brother." She revealed. "I thought we had cleared that up already?" One advisor complained. "Not quite, the attacker was just a scapegoat; one of many infiltrators. She did not work alone, someone has been circumventing the templar network to ease their strikes. To what end I have not yet ascertained. However, I have found the identity one other member. They were the one who supplied the attacker with a clear window by ordering the Templars to stand down. They also tried to get to Lord Fortuno before we could. He managed to erase his logs on the network, but.." She turned her glare to one man in particular. "This individual did not know, apparently, that each templar backs its data up in its own memory. Isn't that right sir Gerber?.."

"You are accusing me?" The man she homed in on, was the local minister of culture and education; Cardel Gerber. "The subversion order was traced back to your terminal. Only you or your secretary had access to it. I also detained her of course. But even if he was complicit in the affair, you are the only one who could arrange everything. And.. I know a sinner when I see one. I am afraid your tenure as part of Millennium will end in disgrace." His face betrayed him, he was nervous. "This is preposterous! She has no right to accuse me!" He yelled at the other councilmembers. "If you are innocent, then you shouldn't have anything to worry about." They replied, turning their backs on him already. "Lord Marco! I would never go against the Union!" He pleaded with the man on the throne. "So you Say. But this Evidence seems Persuasive. Inquisitor, I will Allow you to investigate this Man further." He just sounded relieved to have found a possible suspect. "Milord!" Despite Cardel's pleas, he was dragged away by security.

Afterwards, Silver and her men walked towards the ministers private office. The guards went through his belongings, while the Templars guarded the exits. "Why don't you save us some time, minister, and tell us who you are working with?" As far as she was concerned, he was already guilty. The minister merely scoffed and closed his eyes. "Silence will do you no good. We already have names; Vesper, Cassius, Gareth. You can thank your friends from the other side for that information." Despite her taunts, he did not react. "What is the matter, cat got your tongue?" Silver smiled. "Wait... What are you..." But that quickly turned into a frown, once she realized what a man could do, when was in two places at once. "Preparing." One of her men said as he took a grenade from behind the bookcase. "Another traitor?" Before the Inquisitor could react, he had blown a hole in the wall and knocked everyone down. "Ngh.. " By the time Silver got up, the two were gone from the scene. "No! They can't be far! Put the palace on lockdown, close all exits!"

...

What was supposed to be a brief summary turned into a long drawn out call, as Eric had to drag the phone over to Alice to exchange all sorts of good news. The discovery of the second infiltrator and the rescue of Dom and Tory made her just as happy as the recovery of Zach had made Iria. But it was during this long-distance discussion that the alarms went off. "What is that noise?" Alice cried out. "They're shouting something about a lockdown?" Eric groaned. The announcement was loud and hit every floor. "Something must have gone wrong with the arrest. A city lockdown means they are trying to prevent an escape." Iria concluded. "What? No.. you mean the guy's going to get away?" Alice panicked. If this minister escaped, Uno could lose his one chance at restoring his memories. "Where could they go? That palace has got to have airtight security!" Stonewell figured. "It does. The roads and docks are all closely guarded and can be locked off." Adamant learned that when he patrolled the tower on the first day. "There is only one escape route left.. The same one we used to break in." The subway was the only area that could not be immediately closed off. "Then we've got to stop them!" Alice yelled. "What? Shouldn't we get Uno first?" Eric asked, though he had no idea where Uno was. "No time. We have to go now!"

...

The undergound tunnels were the route Calder and his escort placed their hopes in. There was a station underneath the tower, you could get there within seconds using the hyperspeed elevators in the palace. They knew this. "That's enough with your shameful display, minister." So did Inquisitor Silver. Once the two fugitives walked on the main platform, their pursuer showed up on their left with a solid vision barrier. "Are you going to stop us alone?" It was difficult to get Templars down here, and the Inquisitor did not trust her own men anymore now that there was a second infiltrator in the ranks. "Neither of you have a dueldisk on you. I think those odds are fine." They could not challenge her if they had no tools to duel with. "Never under-estimate us, Inquisitor." Cardel however saw an oncoming train and smirked. "?" As the train passed and stopped, the barrier smashed wide open. "What?" There was only one passenger, and he owned a dueldisk. "If you want Cardel, you'll have to try and go through me first!" He jumped through the door and linked his disk with hers to force a duel.

Inquisitor's LP: 8000 ?'s LP: 8000

"Speedroid Terrortop!" Like lightning he jumped in between with a spinning top monster(3/1200/600). Terrortop could be special summoned when the player controlled no monsters. "Junk Synchron!" The intruder also normal summoned a tuner monster, the orange scrapheap synchron(3/1300/500) and synchronized it with the Speedroid in an instant. "Stardust Assault Warrior!" The two monsters together created the piledriver dragon-knight; Stardust Assault Warrior(6/2100/1200). If it were summoned to a monsterless field, then Assault Warrior could summon one Junk monster from the graveyard like Junk Synchron. "Cardel, Tristan. Make your way out of here. I will follow you after I deal with the Inquisitor." He seemed quite confident, this young man with frizzled brown hair and dark eyes. "The work must go on." Cardel nodded. He and the security guard entered the subway car and took off with it. "Another member I presume?" She would have to settle for this man, whoever he was. "That's all you get to know, I don't plan to stay long"

Since the man summoned Speedroid Terrortop this turn, he could add a Speedroid from his deck to his hand. "Speedroid Taketomborg!" He added the robotic roid(3/600/1200), who could be special summoned since this duelist controlled a wind-type monster; Stardust Assault Warrior. "Synchro summon! Stardust Charge Warrior!" He tuned the resummoned Junk Synchron with Speedroid Taketomborg and formed a Stardust warrior(6/2000/1300) with jetwings on its back. "When Charge Warrior is synchro summoned, I can draw one card!" He took his card and placed two traps down on his field. "Turn end!" Silver who was already staring ahead, drew her card quickly. "So you got the drop on me, and now you think you can win because of that? You're quite greedy." Silver drew her card. "I do not need the first turn to defeat the Unions enemies!" She placed Amorphage Greed (scale 3) in the pendulum zone. "Being one step ahead is how we always win!" The man countered and flipped his trap before Greed could negate it later. "Shooting Star destroys Amorphage Greed!" Shooting Star could destroy any single card if he controlled a 'Stardust' monster. Stardust Assault Warrior fired a comet into the virusdragon of greed, splattering its remains across the extra deck.

"A minor nuisance." Iria adjusted her plans. "Draco Face-Off." She activated her quickplay spell to select a Dracoruler and a Dracoverlord from her deck. "Master Pendulum the Dracoslayer, Lector Pendulum the Dracovelord." She revealed both before they were shuffled. Her opponent had to randomly select one to be placed on her field. "..Left." He picked the Dracoslayer card. "Yes. Master Pendulum will be activated, Lector Pendulum is added to the extra deck." The golden dracoknight (scale 3) claimed one pendulum zone. It was time to complete the field. "I set the scale, Amorphage Envy!" Envy was a sickly blue dragon (scale 5), with tendrils infesting its body. "And now, PENDULUM SUMMON!" She summoned the destroyed Amorphage Greed(4/0/1950) and Lector Pendulum the Dracoverlord dark knight(4/1950/0) from the extra deck. Then she summoned a Dragon Dowser(4/1500/1500) from her hand. "I heard the story of your Circle. You tried to take what was not yours, you wanted the pendulums for your own sad little club. How did that work out for you?"

"That was before. We changed our outlook on pendulums, and how to use them." The boy answered her calmly, which did not satisfy her. "Lord Fortuno already saw how you wanted to use them. That act alone has damned everyone in your organization." Silver activated a field spell, Amorphous Persona. It powered up the defense and attackpoints of all Amorphages. "Amorphage Goliath!" Then the great black dragon(8/3050/300) appeared, summoned through the sacrifices of Greed and Lector. But the virus lingered in the air. "When an Amorphage is tributed, my continuous spell can draw one card for me!" Amorphous Persona pulled a card from her deck. "Disappear, stardust Assault Warrior!" Goliath spread its wings and rushed towards the dragon warrior. "We are not going anywhere, Inquisitor!" The opponent in turn activated the other prepared trap. "Compulsory Evacuation Device! I return the Amorphage to your hand!" Goliath slammed into a lifted platform which catapulted it backwards and forced it off the field. "We're not the enemy of the world, we're here to save it!" The Circle-duelist shouted. "That is what everyone claims when they rebel against the established order." Silver ended her turn.

"Speed Recovery!" The opponent quickly used a spell to special summon a Speedroid from his graveyard. "Come back, Terrortop!" The spinning top snake was the best choice, since it allowed him to add a Speedroid from his deck to his hand once more. "Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!" The man claimed another tuner and he was about to use it, when.. "There!" The duel got a couple more spectators. "We made it!" Alice and Eric came down the stairs, causing the opponent to wince slightly. "You two? How did you get down here?" Silver had locked all the entrances behind her. "Uh.. like this." Alice held up the pendulum crystal. "I used an online picture of this place.." Once she found it, it was pretty easy to teleport through all the barriers. Though it did exhaust her a little again. "So, who are you dueling? Someone from the Fusion Guild, the Circle? Can I.." Eric took a closer look at the field. "Wait.. one.. second." What he observed bewildered him. "Speedroids? Stardust Charge Warrior?" This was not an unfamiliar combination. "Aaron?" These cards were favored.. by Cassius. "Is that you?"

"That is Cassius to you."

"What?" Eric and Alice gasped. "This man is Cassius? The one I was told about?" Now the Inquisitor joined in the confusion. "So they told you about me." 'Cassius' grinned. "They did, yet your appearance does not match their description." He was supposed to have blue eyes and white streaks in his hair. "Aaron? What did you do?" Even his face looked different from the boy Alice used to know. It could not just be a change caused by an altered past. "You didn't think we did not prepare for multi-dimensional spoilers? In this wonderful world, changing my face or identity is as easy as pushing a button! I've been living this close to you and you didn't even notice!" He entered the battle phase. "I activate Super Rush Headlong and declare the earth-attribute!" With a quickplay spell, he gave Stardust Charge Warrior a golden aura. "Now my synchro monster can destroy any monster it battles with that attribute, regardless of its effects or defenses!" Stardust Charge Warrior released the drones on its wings, which fired their own lasers to attack and kill the Dragon Dowser.

"I see. It is no wonder your name disappeared from the network recently. You hid well, but now you are mine! Your Pride will be your downfall! As you destroyed Dragon Dowser, I can special summon an earth-attribute pendulum monster from my deck!" Silver took a card from her deck, Amorphage Pride(4/2050/300) and summoned it. "Pride? This is not about pride for me. For you on the other hand.. Stardust Charge Warrior can attack all special summoned monsters on the field!" The synchro warrior redirected his drones' fire, and they all shot the Prideful Amorphage to pieces. "Speedroid Terrortop and Stardust Assault Warrior attack directly!" The slithering roid and the second synchro warrior jabbed and poked the Inquisitor. "Feh." Though as Solid Vision was still switched off, the damage merely annoyed her.

Inquisitor's LP: 4700

"Aaron.. Why did you want Uno's pendulum?" If he really was Cassius, then he might respond more to her, Alice thought. "There is nothing I can say to you right now." Her did respond, coldly. "A-Aaron?" She was stunned, he did not even sound like Aaron. "Didn't you hear me? It's not Aaron, it's Cassius." He was ignoring her just to get on with the duel. "But.. what about my sister? You know where she is!" In spite of everything she was certain that Cassius would want to protect Emily. "But she's not _your_ sister. I will take care of Emily from now on.. Seeing you with that crystal in your hand, makes it clear that you should stay far away from her!" Cassius normal summoned Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice(1/100/100). The Red-Eyed tuner used its levelchanging effect on Speedroid Terrortop(1/1200/600), lowering it all the way down to one. "Synchro summon! Formula Synchron!" The tuning of the two level 1 monsters together, released the formula 1 racing car robot(2/200/1500) from the extra deck. "I draw one card!" Formula Synchron secured an extra draw upon its synchro summon. And it was also a tuner monster. "Then I overlay Formula Synchron with Stardust Assault Warrior, and create Stardust Spark Dragon!" Formula Synchron and the Warrior sped up into overdrive, and flashed around the station. When they returned, they had become one flashing white dragon(8/2500/2000).

Last but not least, Cassius placed two trap cards and let his turn end. "I do agree with you mister Cassius, children should not be asking questions. I should.. and will." During her standby phase, Amorphage Envy destroyed itself as it had no tribute to feed on. "So let me teach you your position. I set Luster Pendulum!" Envy's replacement was the dragonmasked knight (scale 5). "I activate Luster Pendulum's effect; I destroy a pendulum to get another of the same name!" Luster destroyed his fellow Dracoslayer, Master Pendulum, just so Silver could add a copy from her deck to her hand. "I set it!" This Master (scale 3) would join Luster Pendulum for this turns.. "PENDULUM SUMMON!" Between the two Dracoslayers appeared the slain, tributed and destroyed pendulum monsters. Lector Pendulum the Dracoverlord(4/1950/0), Master Pendulum the Dracoslayer(4/2150/300) and the Amorphages Greed(4/300/2250), Pride(4/2050/300) and Envy(4/300/2350). "Oh.. as long as she controls pendulum summoned Amorphages, Aaron cant summon monsters from his extra deck?" Alice pointed out. "Well then he's in big trouble." Cassius liked to synchro summon, a lot.

"Now. You can begin by explaining to me what you did to lord Fortuno Nisell. Not just last night, but when he first disappeared." The Inquisitor gave her first question. "What are you talking about?" Cassius met that with a genuinely stunned response. "Hey? You're saying you didn't try to hurt him like three times now?" Eric asked. "We only tried to make a pass at him yesterday. I have no idea what earlier attacks you are referring too." The duelist from the Circle swore. "The attack that left him in another dimension, that took his memory and age away." Silver raged at him. "That? The Circle was not responsible for that and we do not know who was. Had I had known that Uno was part of the founding family, I would've taken him out before he could go back home. And that chance.. may yet come."

(To be Continued in Redux 051: Kicking up Gold Dust)

 **New Cards used by Inquisitor Silver  
** Amorphage Envy  
Dragon Dowser

-  
Amorphous Persona

 **New Cards used by Cassius  
** Junk Synchron

-  
Stardust Assault Warrior  
Formula Synchron

-  
Super Rush Headlong

-  
Shooting Star


	40. Kicking Up Gold Dust

**Redux 51: Kicking up Gold Dust**

"A city-wide lockdown? What is happening? Do you know?" Uno looked at his sister while the alarms went off in the background. "i fear not." She shook her head. "Blast! Eric and Alice.. Zach.. I should.." He was safe inside this palace hall, but he did not want to imagine what anyone outside could run into. "no.. please stay." Anastasia grabbed him by his wrist. "Anastasia. I don't want to hide in a shelter every time something dangerous happens. I can't live like that." If someone came after him or his friends, he wanted to face it head on. "but I can't lose you.. again... I already lost.." Her voice trembled, and her words were stifled. "Already lost.. someone else? Are you talking about Tempus?" She did not answer. "Anastasia.. that's not going to happen to me.." Uno took a deep breath. "Okay. I will stay. But at least have someone check and see how the others are doing." She nodded slowly and went to the door to call for a servant. _"She is hiding something, Uno."_ He thought to himself, and started to wonder if he was spending too much time with the family..

...

Cassius' LP: 8000 Inquisitor's LP: 4700

"You really didn't do it?" Cassius denied having attacked Uno, which made sense now that Eric thought about it. Nobody in the synchro guild recognized Uno before. "Then what _have_ you been involved with?" Still, to Inquisitor Silver he was guilty of other actions. "If you want to know, defeat me." Cassius was done talking either way. "Heh. I was only offering you a painless way out. I am glad you said no! I summon Amorphage Goliath!" Silver would keep going too. She tributed Amorphage Envy(4/300/2350) and Amorphage Greed(4/300/2250) to bring out her titanic dragon(8/3250/300) again. Since she tributed more Amorphages, the Amorphous Persona field spell let her draw one more card. "Heh!" Which she immediately activated. It was a second Amorphous Persona spell." One field spell replaced the other, which benefited her in a very simple way. This field spell became a ritual spell once it was in the graveyard.

"I activate Amorphous Persona from the graveyard! The pendulum Amorphage Goliath will serve as the sacrifice for the ritual monster: Amorphactor Pain the Imagination Dracoverlord!" Goliath gave its eight levels of life, as the field spell was banished. A white haired and black scaled dracoverlord grew from the back of Goliath, it merged with the dragon to become the Lord of Pain(2950/2500). Meanwhile the Amorphous Persona spell on the field drew its card once Goliath was tributed. "Damn." Amorphactor negated the effects of all synchro, fusion or XYZ-monsters, including those of Cassius' Stardust Spark Dragon(8/2500/2000). "Taste the power of Pain and Pride. I attack!" Amorphactor spread its long arms to release a blast of wind and earth. Stardust Spark was dragged into the depths by agonizing magic. Then Amorphage Pride(4/2050/300), powered by Amorphous Persona, slaughtered Stardust Charge Warrior(6/2000/1300). "And you can taste the attacks of my Draco pendulums!"

Cassius' LP: 7950

"I'm affraid I was one step ahead again, Inquisitor." Cassius saw the monsters coming and flipped his trap. "I activate Reject Reborn! When a direct attack is declared, Reject Reborn revives one synchro monster and one tuner monster from my graveyard!" A beam of light broke the floor and allowed Stardust Spark Dragon to take flight once again in attack position. Formula Synchron the tuner synchro(2/200/1500) was special summoned along with it. "Then the battle phase is stopped!" Her remaining pendulum monsters were warded by the light of the stars. "You want me to believe that your synchro's death was part of your plan?" That was the only way he could pull off his Reject Reborn trick. "But Amorphactor takes away your first main phase when it is ritual summoned. And you can't use your monsters for a synchro summon while I control Amorphage Pride!" The Pride demon was her only pendulum summoned Amorphage right now. "I activate Super Rejuvenation! During this endphase, I draw one card for each dragon I tributed this turn!" Three dragons were tributed overall, so when her turn finished, her hand held three new cards.

"Oh is that all?!" Cassius could still use his battle phase at least. "In that case, Stardust Spark attacks Amorphage Pride!" The synchro dragon killed Pride with a single breath of white fire. "And before you say Amorphactor is gonna pay me back." Cassius revealed his other trap card. "I activate Urgent Tuning! With this I can synchro summon during the battle phase!" The trap started the process, Formula Synchron turned into synchronizing energy rings. "Accel Synchro Summon?" Stardust Spark Dragon flew through the rings and turned into eight bright stars. "There's.. something higher than the dragon?" Alice gasped as the clashing lights grew as bright as the sun. "Stardust Chronicle Dragon!" Stardust was no more, Chronicle Dragon(3000/2500) abandoned its white star colors for a magnificent golden armor that shimmered even in the darkness. "Goodbye, Dracoverlord of Pain!" The golden dragon loomed above the ritual monster and smote it with an instantaneous ray of pure energy. "When you destroy Amorphactor, I can take one Dracoverlord from my deck." The mildly irritated Inquisitor placed a Vector Pendulum Dracoverlord card in her hand.

Inquisitor's LP: 4200

Before the duelist could continue this turn. "Cassius.. is Aaron there too?" Alice interrupted. She failed to hold back one burning question, even though he told her he would not answer her. "Yeah. Uno told us you were carded by Phoebe. How are you back up and walking?" Eric had several of his own too. "Uno told you? How did he know about that?" Cassius was taken back. Uno was not there when he lost his duel to Phoebe. "... Only one body was transformed into a card. My body in this world was unaffected. We are one, I am here too." He explained as he moved to his second main phase; the one he could still use. "But what about Aarons body? He doesn't have it anymore.. and yours is.." No matter what, it was hard for her to see the 'Aaron' inside Cassius. "Yeah, since when did you start using so many Stardusts?" Eric remembered Cassius' duels and they were not like this.

"Hm. Since the beginning. Stardust Dragon was my partner, the Speedroids were his. But I still have them, as you can see. I activate Speed Recovery from my graveyard, which lets me recycle one Speedroid!" Speed Recovery was banished and Speedroid Terrortop returned from the graveyard. "I normal summon it and use its effect to add another Taketomborg to my hand!" By reusing the Terror roid(3/1200/600) he could restart the sequence towards a synchro summon. Once Terrortop added the Speedroid to his hand, Cassius special summoned Taketomborg(3/600/1200) from his hand. "The Borg tributes itself to special summon a Speedroid Tuner from my deck; Tri-Eyed Dice!" Taketomborh traded its life for the foursided black die(3/300/1500). "Synchro Summon! Hi-Speedroid Hagoita, in defense mode!" Tri-Eyed Dice and Terrortop were tuned and they formed the paddle-rocketship Hagoita(5/2000/1000). "Is that proof enough, Eric? We are still alive. Even if we have to use just one body, the Circle goes on."

"All I need to understand about this 'synchronization' process is that the two of you share the same guilt. So this body will end up the same way." Silver drew a card. She normal summoned Vector Pendulum the Dracoverlord, the draconic wizard(4/1850/0) in his cloak of shadows. "Activate Luster." Luster Pendulum once again destroyed his pendulum partner with his spell effect. The second Master Pendulum was killed, and the third Master Pendulum entered Silvers hand. "Activate Master." She placed that card in the open pendulum zone. Master Pendulum could destroy one other pendulum zoned card as well, as it did with Luster Pendulum. This Dracoslaying effect however did not give Silver anything new in return. "We share everything. That is no secret, Inquisitor.. I activate the effect of Hi-Speedroid Hagoita!" The synchro speedroid tributed itself. "He raises the levels of all your monsters by 1!" If she had any XYZ- or Synchro-summon intentions with Master Pendulum(5/1950/0) or Vector Pendulum(5/1850/0), it would be hard to use them as materials now.

"Pathetic." Yet what Cassius could not prevent was a fusion summon. "Lector Pendulum, Master Pendulum; fuse into Dinoster Power the Mighty Dracoslayer!" Any Dracoslayer pendulum could be fused with another pendulum monster, to fusion summon the dragon warrior in aqua-blue armor(8/2000/2950). "Your words, your cards. They are all pathetic.. nothing before my deck! Just watch!" And she played a spell next. "Forge of True Dracos! Now that I control a Dracoverlord and a non-pendulum Dracoslayer, all cards on the field will be shuffled back into the deck!" Vector Pendulum, Dinoster Power, and the third Master Pendulum in the pendulum zone; all of them were pulled into a cauldron of light and dark energy. "Tch! I activate Stardust Chronicle Dragon's effect! It banishes one Stardust dragon from the graveyard, to defend itself against all other effects!" The golden Stardust used the spirit of Stardust Spark Dragon to empower its own body. It gained enough strength to resist the pull of the Forge.

"Ha. I knew you would. But the Forge also summons one Dracoslayer or Dracoverlord from the deck, no matter what its summoning requirements are! I summon Master Peace! The True Dracoslayer!" To counter the golden dragon, Silver summoned her own. Master Peace was the ultimate holy Dracoslayer(8/2950/2950), wearing a helmet, sword, shield and armor of gold. "But his card is stronger." Alice noticed. "Cute.. This is far from it! I set the scales! Amorphage Sloth, Dark Doriado!" The twoheaded sindragon of sloth (scale 3) would pair with the dark and corrupted version of Elemental mistress Doriado (scale 5). "I PENDULUM SUMMON! Come, Dracoverlords and Dracoslayers!" Together the two pendulum cards ejected four cards from her extra deck; The first two Master Pendulum Dracoslayers(4/1950/0), Lector Pendulum the Dracoslayer(4/1950/0) and Luster Pendulum the tuner Dracoslayer(4/1850/0). "Oh boy. She's gonna do it again." Eric knew why she was only summoning Draco-cards. She was preparing the same moves that swept Uno away.

"Here, the form you adore so much; Synchro! Summon!" First Silver tuned Luster Pendulum with one Master Pendulum. "Ignister Prominence the Blasting Dracoslayer!" The blazing dragon igknight(4/2850/0) was the first to fly out of the extra deck. "Oh?" Cassius was not that surprised. "Ignister summons a Dracoslayer from my deck! I choose Luster Pendulum!" A second holy dracoknight(4/1850/0) walked in on Ignisters carved path of flames. This monster could not be used as a synchro material though. "Now XYZ! Summon!" Luster Pendulum overlayed with the other Master Pendulum. "Majester Paladin, the Ascending Dracoslayer!" The dragonknight became a dragonrider(4/1850/2000), flying in the air on Majespecter Unicorn. "Majester summons a Dracoslayer from my extra deck!" The first and recently synchronized Luster Pendulum returned to the field. This one _could_ be used as a synchro material. "Synchro Summon! Ignister!" Lector Pendulum and Luster Pendulum were tuned to form the second Blasting Dracoslayer(4/2850/0). Ignister number two used its summoning effect to summon a third Luster Pendulum(4/1850/0) from Silver's deck.

"Heh. When I have Dark Doriado in the pendulum zone, my fire, water, wind and earth monsters gain 200 attackpoints for each different attribute I control." Right now she controlled monsters with the element of fire (Ignister: 3400 atk), Wind (Majesterr: 2450 atk) and light (Master Pendulum, Master Peace). So 600 attackpoints were added to the synchro and XYZ-slayers. "I wonder how much this will hurt. Ignister, attack!" The two igknight dragons fired a powerful stream of fire towards Stardust Chronicle Dragon. "I banish Tri-Eyed Dice to negate one attack!" Cassius could intercept one flame strike with the effect of the speedroid dice in his graveyard. The second Ignister unfortunately could continue unchallenged, and burned the gold right off of the Chronicling synchro dragon with its attack. "Gah!" Cassius felt the heat. So did Eric and Alice. "She turned solid vision on, why?" The Inquisitor was out to hurt him, and her expression showed that she was enjoying it. Nevertheless, Cassius fought back. "I get one more effect when Chronicle Dragon dies! He special summons one banished Stardust monster! Stardust Spark.."

Cassius' LP: 7550

"Keep dreaming, Cassius!" Iria activated one of her monsters effects; True Dracoslayer's. "Master Peace can negate one effect each turn!" The golden Dracoslayer shut down Chronicle Dragon's unbanishing effect, and kept Stardust Spark Dragon trapped in the other dimension. "Nothing is going to come back this time!" She declared her direct attacks. "Gah!" Luster Pendulum sliced Cassius across his chest with his sword. "You thought you could defeat me!" Majester Paladin bombarded the duelist with a windblast from above. "All your suffering is due to your mistakes and sins!" Master Peace unleashed a bolt of holy lightning to strike Cassius down. He was one step away from falling off the train platform. ".. It's just like before.." Alice could not watch this anymore. Even if he had a different face, this man used to be her friend. "Damn. You should have just given up, man." Eric saw no possible escape for Cassius.

Cassius' LP: 300

"Giving up, Eric? Do you think a little pain is going to stop us now? You have to fight, you must always fight as long as you have your life left." Cassius crawled back up and drew the next card from his deck. "Now it is my turn to shoulder the burden! I activate Shock Surprise. I banish two Speedroids from the graveyard to destroy two of your cards!" Speedroid Terrortop and Taketomborg were both removed, while Master Peace and one Ignister Prominence ended up in the spells cross-hairs. "Was that your last hope? Did you not hear me say that my True Dracoslayer negates all effects!?" Master Peace countered Shock Surprise and cancelled out the destruction effect. "Whether you are from this world or the other, you will always be inferior to me. I was chosen by the founding family, by Millennium! And no outsider can overcome Millennium!"

"But we are not outsiders. We are inside. And from inside, your Union wall fall. What was founded through the power of the pendulum, must be crushed!" Cassius played his last card. "Speedroid Double Yoyo! It special summons one Speedroid from my graveyard!" The Yoyo machine special summoned the Taketomborg that did not get banished. "I tribute Speedroid Taketomborg to special summon Speedroid Denden Daiko Duke!" The borg did not use his trading effect for a dice tuner this time, but a robotic duke(3/1000/1000) with a feathered hat, cape and thunderbolt-pointed boots. "I overlay the Duke with Double Yoyo!" Denden Daiko Duke slammed his thunder drum staff on the ground and changed its body into electric tuning rings. The Yoyo passed through the arcing lightning. "To synchro summon, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" Four stars collided with three, so that the white dragon(7/2500/2000) of the forgotten apocalypse could be reborn. "He still has Clear Wing?" Alice gasped. The original card was supposed to be in the fusion guild's hands now. "The synchro guild must have printed new ones." Eric guessed.

"Four dragons." Silver already possessed network data on the Pendulum, Fusion and XYZ dragons. Now she was seeing the synchro version. "I understand how these cards can have importance out of a duel context. But here and now, it poses no threat at all." If Clear Wing tried to take down one of her Dracoslayers. Her remaining forces would retaliate swiftly and fatally on her next turn. "I know. I lost once already with this card. But.. we borrowed the ability to create from the maker of cards, and we evolved." Cassius activated one more effect from his graveyard. "Denden Daiko Duke can banish itself to summon a Speedroid tuner from the graveyard! Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!" A spark flew out of the platform, dropping the six-sided die(1/100/100) back in a monster zone. "When I control a tuner, I can special summon Hi-Speedroid Hagoita from the graveyard." The Hi-Speed rocketship was also brought back. Cassius put on a grin. "Now..Synchro summon!" Red-Eyed Dice tuned itself.. with Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. "What?"

Clear Wing transformed before their eyes. Gold plates were added to its armor, and crystals grew out of its body. The dragon(3000/2500)'s very wings, horns and claws were made of pure diamond. "This is the next stage of the Synchro Dragon: Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon! Once per turn, when a monster's effect activates.." Cassius gave an immediate demonstration, as he set off Hi-Speedroid Hagoita's effect. "He can negate that effect, destroy that monster, and take its power!" Crystal Wing stabbed Hagoita with its crystal wings before the other synchro could tribute itself. Instead Hagoita was destroyed and sacrificed for Crystal Wing; its 2000 attackpoints absorbed into the Dragon(5000/2500). "And he also increases his attackpower when he battles a level 5 or higher monster, by adding the targets original attackpoints to his own!" The dragon and his master opened the battle phase. "Crystal Wing! Attack Master Peace!" Diamond dust glittered in the space between the golden Dracoslayer and the crystalline wind dragon. "But that means.." Crystal Wing(7950/2500) bathed in the light, charged himself up, and dove straight towards the True Dracoslayer. "I am going to lose?" The Inquisitor felt her heart pause, while her lifepoints and monsters were blown clear. "I failed... you. I failed my lord... How." There was no anger, only sheer devastation

Inquisitor's LP: 0

"The only way to overpower Millennium, the source of all cards, is to create our own." One by one the holograms of Silver's army dimmed. Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon stood alone and triumphant. "Your mistake was assuming the best cards belonged to you, or that the best cards will always win. The pride was yours all along." He shunned the stunned inquisitor and turned to the other two duelists. "Hey hey!" Eric fumbled for his cards. "Eric, I am not going to challenge you. We are not enemies. And for the sake of Emily, I will not pursue you either.. Alice." He spoke while glaring at the girl. "Emily. She told you?" Then she had to be with him still. "She is with us. And she is unharmed. I wouldn't use her like the fusion guild used your father and your mother. But.." He raised a finger. "I cannot let you talk to her, until lord Uno decided to meet with us outside of the city on neutral grounds."

"With you, the circle?" Alice flinched. "Yes, he must come alone tonight, at this location." He tossed a photo at their feet, of an island in the middle of the ocean. "He will know how to get there, with his crystal pendulum.. and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. We must keep that card away from others. I have to talk with him, to convince him that the pendulum must be destroyed. If we can combine our forces again, we can defeat the true enemies.. the fusion guild and the Union! He has until midnight to show himself. After that we will consider his absence a rejection, and you will not hear from us again." Cassius ascended the Crystal Dragon. "Wait!" Alice called out after him. "Goodbye, Alice and Eric. I will tell Emily that you're in good health." He waved once and rocketed away with his dragon. He was fast. "Aar..on." He was gone.

(To be Continued in Redux 050: The Needs of the Many)

 **New Cards used by Inquisitor Silver  
** Amorphactor Pain, the Imagination Overlord  
Vector Pendulum the Dracoverlord  
Master Peace the True Dracoslayer  
Dark Doriado

-  
Super Rejuvenation  
Forge of the True Dracos

 **New Cards used by Cassius  
** Speedroid Denden Daiko Duke

-  
Stardust Chronicle Dragon  
Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon

-  
Reject Reborn  
Urgent Tuning


	41. The Needs of the Many

**Redux 50: The Needs of the Many**

"I will go."

There was nothing else to say to that, to the proposal Alice and Eric delivered from Cassius once they found the Nisells and their parents. "What? No! You can't go alone!" Obviously Alice and his other friends were strongly against the idea. "it is certainly a trap, Uno." Anastasia even pointed out the obvious. "Yeah, at least let us go with you! We could catch them by surprise!" Eric suggested with intensity. "Not on your life, mister! You're not putting yourself in danger again!" But Mrs Stonewell had finished her nap by this time and carried a firm leash on her son. "Everyone, I know its risky. But I still have to do this. And I can't bring any of you along. You said it yourself. The Circle wants me to travel by pendulum, they will notice right away if I don't appear alone." He was given a picture of an uncharted island, that was enough to teleport there. But he could only bring people along if they stayed close to him. "Besides. This may be the only chance to get Emily back. Don't you want that?" He didn't just ask Alice, but her father as well. "Of course I do. But I can't ask you to put yourself in harms way for us." James said.

"Listen to them, Christopher. And think about what you are Doing; you are walking into an Ambush. The Union cannot Lose you again." Even Marco Amadeus was here in the halls to try to dissuade his brother from his conclusion. "I have considered everything, Marco. If something goes wrong, I will teleport back. I am not going to get suckerpunched again." Uno swore. "but there still is time." Anastasia said. Midnight was five hours away. "Yes. Let us at least Prepare for this. We can track down the Island with our Satellites, we can send Templars as Back-up." With Minister Calder gone, the Circle lost their access to the Templars anymore.. he hoped. "Yes. Let them help, Uno. Please.." Alice begged. "Oh.. okay. It's not time yet. But I will do this if I have to, Marco. Emily is my friend too, I will not abandon her just because I am a Lord of something." He got up. "...Where are you Going?" His brother asked. "Relax. I just have a few places to see, I'll be back in four hours. You do what you have to.." He then smiled at Eric, Anastasia and Alice. "I know what I am doing. So don't worry.."

Uno wandered the long and quiet corridors of the palace, restless and more impatient than he wanted to be. At first he just walked by himself to pass the time. "Oh." After a while he came across Tory and Stonewell. "I see you guys got back. Are you sticking around?" These planes were faster than he imagined. "Apparently. I am surprised as you are." Tory expected Stonewell to want to be as far away as possible from this place, now that he got what he came for. "This whole business is too messed up to turn my back on it now. Besides, I gotta make sure that other version of me and his mother gets back home safely." Stonewell grumbled. "Glad to hear it either way." Uno laughed. "By the way. I heard about this whole 'Circle' mess. Are you actually going to give yourself up to them?" Stonewell wanted to know. "We don't know yet if that's what they want." Uno shrugged. "But if it is.. I might have to." Nothing was certain. "... Are you sure this guy was like the other lords?" Tory poked Eric in the side. "Huh?" Uno blinked. "Nothing." Eric prodded Tory back. "Anyway. Good luck out there, Uno."

"Thanks Eric."

Uno's next stop was the infirmary, where Iria and Zach were chatting it up. "Uno!" Zach looked better now than he did before, he was not bedridden anymore. "Evening, Zach. I am sorry I couldn't come sooner." Uno remembered rejecting the earlier invitation. "From what I have been told you're a lord of sorts now. So I can understand.." Perhaps it was the recent coma talking, but Zachary felt remarkably sedate right now. "Perhaps. Is that the only reason you came here?" Iria was more skeptical as usual. "I wish I could say yes. But.. I also came to get my Odd-Eyes card back." Uno admitted. "Then you are going." Iria already knew about 'the meeting'. Nevertheless she took the card out of her suit and gave it to him. "I don't think I can say no." Uno looked at the dragon card. This was the final piece. "You always can." Zach claimed. "I guess... I could tear this card up right now.. but. Anyway, I'm happy I could see you two. Where did Dom go?" He saw two disciples, but no Master. "Wandering somewhere. Can't get him to stay put. It's okay, he cant leave the city." Iria said with a sigh. "I see. Well. Maybe once this is over, we can help him get his memories back too." There was so much to talk about and so little time. "I'll see you guys again."

"You didn't tell him about the Monument." Zach told Iria, once Uno left the room. "He has enough on his head right now." Iria replied with a grimace. "And I don't know if I believe that he could create such a place."

...

It was the eleventh hour. Uno returned to his family and friends. The bad news was apparently that the Island could not be located in such a short time. "I see.. But I've already made up my mind." He was going to make the journey even now. "C'mon, don't look so sad. I am only gonna have a talk. I will be back in a jiffy!" He saw the expressions on Alice and Anastasia's faces. It was almost enough to make him want to stay. "I want you to know, Brother.. That If anything goes Wrong, our Templars will have your Back." Marco was the first to accept his decision. He patted his brother on the back. "you better.. come back." Anastasia whimpered. "Of course I will. I always do!" There was not much time left for talk. "Good luck out there, Uno." Eric said, mimicking his counterpart's farewells without even realizing. "Thanks, Eric. Everyone." Uno took the pendulum. "See you on the flipside." He winked, and blinked out of existence. "Uno!" Alice yelled. Too late, he could not hear her anyway. "..Be safe."

He was far away. On the other side of the world it appeared. The sun sat high in the sky here. "Not exactly midnight anymore." Uno inspected his surroundings. He was in a field of long grass, surrounded by palm trees and a mountain in the distance. The island was quiet, only birds and insects flew by. The only humans here were him and.. "Greetings, Lord Nisell." The Minister of Culture and Education. "Cardel." At least now there was one councilman he wouldn't forget. "I thought I was going to talk with Cassius." Uno backed up a bit. "The Circle figured, why send a duelist to do a politicians job." Cardel smirked wryly. "Fair enough... How did you get here anyway? Is this place yours?" He asked just to be sure. "Oh no. This is neutral ground. And we of the Circle have our ways of getting to places."

"And getting to people.. Okay then, what's your story." Uno was ready to hear it. "We learned a great deal, Lord Fortuno. We learned that the pendulum and those who use it are the source of all this temporal calamity. Right now we are willing to let you talk to Emily. All we ask in return is that you give _it_ to us, so that we can find a way to nullify its powers. Then nothing like this can happen again." The Minister finished his proposal. "That's it? You want to take this power away? This might be the only thing that can save the world! It's the only reason my friends even got here!" Uno did not like it one bit. "What is done cannot be undone. Any further attempts to meddle with time and space might further damage the dimensions. We have four years left now. There is still time to synchronize the world. That is the only way." Cardel kept talking, and Uno kept hearing something else. "Your story still sounds the same to me and I still don't believe it.. Cardel. In fact, it sounds more like you are afraid because the pendulums can counter synchronization!" Back when he dueled their thief, he separated her mind from her counterparts. He could do the same to all of them. "If the conversation has reached this stage, then.." Cardel suddenly pulled out a dueldisk and activated it. "We will let the duel decide who gets what."

Cardel's LP: 8000 Uno's LP: 8000

"So we're rolling back the shades eh?" Uno drew his cards. "In the end this how it is always decided." The Minister drew five cards. "Ha.. I don't think you expected me to listen anyway.. My turn is first! I set two scales!" Uno placed Wisdom-Eye Magician (scale 4) and Dragon Pit Magician (scale 8) on his right and left pendulum zones. "I can exchange Wisdom-Eye Magician for a Magician pendulum in my deck!" Wisdom-Eye tributed himself, to place the Oafdragon Magician (scale 2) in his zone. "When I control two Magician pendulums, Oafdragon can add a Magician or Odd-Eyes card from my extra deck or graveyard to my hand! I take Wisdom-Eye Magician!" The sage of insight left the extra deck, so Uno could use it again at a later turn. "Pendulum summon! Go, Performapal Trumpanda and King Bear!" The tuba-playing Panda(3/800/800) was summoned in defense mode. King Bear the crowned and caped circus bear(6/2200/1000) was summoned in attack mode. "Now then, let's see what kind of cards the minister of culture uses!" Uno placed one trap card down and ended the turn.

"I believe you will be surprised. I summon Flower Cardian Pine." He summoned a floating panel(1/100/100) with the dimensions of a playing card. The panel had a stylistic image of pine trees drawn on it. "Flower Cardians are monsters based on Hanafuda playing cards, lord Nisell." He explained. "Huh. Interesting. Your invention I suppose?" Uno did not recall facing these cards before. "Indeed. Do not forget that I oversaw the cultural development of this game." He suddenly connected another panel to the first. "When I control a level 7 or lower Flower Cardian, I may special summon Flower Cardian Zebra Grass from my hand. But only Flower Cardians may be special summoned this turn now." This cardian(8/100/100) held an image of the monster Naturia Cosmobeet. "Zebragrass lets me shuffle Cardians in my hand with cards in my deck." Cardel returned a Flower Cardian Willow to his deck, to draw one card. "Cardians are divided into three types. Those with 100 points can be freely special summoned. But those with 2000 points usually are special summoned by sending a Cardian with the same level to the grave."

Zebragrass was sacrificed for its upgraded form, a panel(7/2000/2000) with the image of The Wicked Avatar rising like a black sun. "Cardian Zebragrass with Moon. When it is special summoned, I draw one card." Cardel drew another Flower Cardian; Paulownia. "I can summon the card if it is a Cardian!" He special summoned Cardian Paulownia(12/100/100), a panel with art of a TentaclePlant. "Paulownia with Phoenix!" That Cardian was tributed for its higher form, the Cardian(12/2000/2000) of the phoenix Fenghuang. "And I can draw again." Paulownia with Phoenix drew a card with its summon effect. "Hrm." But this time, Cardel drew an upgraded Cardian; Willow with Calligrapher. "The upgraded Cardians cannot be special summoned by other effects. But.." He activated a spell. "Card Regeneration can add one Flower Cardian from the graveyard to my hand, to force a special summon of another Cardian." He returned Cardian Zebragrass to his hand and special summoned the Cardian Willow with Calligrapher(11/2000/2000). "?!" It was a tuner Cardian that carried the image of an unknown synchro monster and a Poison Draw Frog. "I expected synchros."

"You would. Yet for now, these materials will do. I enter the battle phase. Willow with Calligrapher attacks!" The Willow Cardian hovered towards Performapal Trumpanda. "Okay, but Trumpanda can negate one attack against a pendulum monster each turn!" The Panda blew his horn to scare off the Flower Cardian. "A typical response. Then I attack with Flower Cardian Zebragrass with Moon." The black sun Cardian made the second strike and destroyed the Performapal. "When Zebragrass with Moon battles, it draws once." Cardel claimed a new card and sent out Flower Cardian Paulownia with Phoenix to make a third attack. "I discard Flower Cardian Cherry Blossom with Curtain." Cherry blossoms dropped down from a curtain flying overhead. "My attacking Flower Cardian will gain 1000 attackpoints during the damage step." The flowers absorbed by the Phoenix Cardian(3000/2000). "Ah." Performapal King Bear was burned to destruction by flames that emanated from the panel. "When Paulownia with Phoenix inflicts damage, I can draw one card." Cardel drew again. "Excellent." Satisfied he moved on to his second main phase.

Uno's LP: 7200

"I activate Flower Cardian with Calligraphers effect. It can treat all Flower Cardians as level 2 monsters if it used as a synchro material." The tuner Cardian(2/2000/2000) lowered its own level and transformed into two synchronic rings. "So it's a synchro summon with four monsters?" Zebragrass with Moon(2/2000/2000), Paulownia with Phoenix(2/2000/2000) and Pine(2/100/100) joined with the Calligrapher. "Yes, a level 2 tuner and three level 2 monsters will form the Ameshikou combo and create Flower Cardian Lightshower!" Cardels monsters abandoned their 'panel' form and transformed into a human; the umbrella-holding rainman(8/3000/3000) in purple flower-pattern robes. "Lightshower makes all Flower Cardians immune to targeting and destructive effects." Cardel placed three trap cards down and moved to his endphase. This was when Uno flipped his continuous trap. "Not so fast! Echo Oscillation can destroy one card in my pendulum zone each turn, to draw one card.." He destroyed Oafdragon Magician and drew once. "You like drawing too, don't you? Well I am afraid when you draw a card during your draw phase." Cardel waited until Uno drew his next card to continue his explanation. "Lightshower will inflict 1500 points of damage." The Cardian's umbrella unleashed a series of lightning bolts upon Uno. "Say wh.. gaaahh!" Uno was punished just for doing what was natural.

Uno's LP: 5700

"Oof. You're pretty good at this, minister. During each drawphase huh?" Uno shook it off. "In that case.." Uno placed Wisdom-Eye Magician down as a spell again. "This turn I sacrifice it for Dragonpulse Magician!" Wisdom-Eye switched itself with the female partner of Dragonpit Magician, the braided-hair Dragonpulser (scale 1). "I activate the effect of Dragonpit Magician to destroy one of your traps!" Both dragon mages could eliminate one card on the field each turn by discarding a pendulum card from the duelist hand. Dragonpit discarded Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and destroyed Cardel's face-down Fraud Freeze. "Now you say your synchro was immune to destruction effects." Dragonpulse Magician had to sit this turn out. "The answer is simple then! Just kill it in a fight! I pendulum summon four of my pals this time!" With the guidance of the two pendulum magicians, Performapal Drumerilla(5/1600/900) left Uno's hand. Trumpanda, King Bear(2200/1000), Wisdom-Eye Magician(4/1500/1000) and Oafdragon Magician(6/2100/1400) were summoned from the extra deck. "When Oafdragon Magician is summoned, one Odd-Eyes or Magician card in the graveyard can come back!" Uno used that effect to return Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon to his hand.

"And there it is." Cardel was pleased to see the dragon. "Yeah. Why did you want me to bring it? I thought the Circle was not interested in Doms vault? Or do you just want it so you can boss the fusion guild around?" Uno was shooting in the dark, but Cardels silence as much as confirmed his suspicion. "Well, either way. You're not getting it either! King Bear gains 100 attackpoints for each Performapal during my battle phase! And Performapal Drumerilla can give him 600 more attackpoints when he attacks!" The King of Bears(7/3100/1000) roared along with the drumbeat of the gorilla. "He attacks your synchro monster!" He used his newfound power to impale Flower Cardian Lightshower with his claws. "Hrm." The umbrella broke first, then the rainman himself died, breaking up into thunderbolts. "The rest will play with you!" Drumerilla smacked the minister with his drumsticks. Wisdom-Eye Magician and Oafdragon Magician shot holy and wind spells with their flails and staffs. Trumpanda musically backed the attackers up from defense mode.

Cardel's LP: 2800

"Guh.. Cassius was right. You are a dangerous duelist." Cardel grunted. He lost more than half his life in one turn. "Well, I am the Lord after all." Uno chuckled. "I'll use Echo Oscillation again." The trap destroyed Dragonpulse Magician to secure the next draw. "I set a card face-down in my spell/trap zone and I set Odd-Eyes in the empty pendulum zone. That was my turn." Well it almost was. During the endphase, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon tributed itself to add a pendulum monster with 1500 attackpoints or less to Uno's hand. His choice was Nobledragon Magician. "I would not consider that a compliment, Lord Fortuno. Because of this, we will have to go through more 'desperate' measures."

"Who..Oh!" Uno was in for a rude surprise. He and Cardel were not alone on the island. A whole mass of people surrounded the two, looming in the jungle. A hooded man stepped forward and entered the duel. "You're.. Martels Knight, the Shiranui duelist. Then.. this was his battle royal all this time?" Martel was the only one who could enter new players without them getting penalties. "Yes." The puppetmaster himself also stepped forward from the bushes. "We want you, Uno, Lord Nisell." He did not join the duel himself, he just watched and waited. "What? That's not.. you're working with them now?" Uno could not believe his eyes, the synchro guild joined the fusion guild too now? "This is a temporary arrangement born out of necessity. We both incurred losses, so we decided to pool our resources. They will take Odd-Eyes, we will take the pendulum." Uno shook his head. "Enough." He grasped his crystal and tried to teleport away. "What?" Yet the crystal did not respond at all. "No, stay. We know how pendulums work, we know how to keep you here." Martel said with his leery grin. "You wont run from this, Lord Fortuno. Do not blame us. You and your pendulum are to blame, for being a danger to all those around you."

...

"Alice. I know you're worried, but maybe you should get some sleep." James' daughter had been staring outside the window of her room for the last fifteen minutes. "I can't.." She did not know what Uno was going through, none of them did. "I.. I don't want wait any longer. If I can't help Uno or Emily. Then maybe I can help someone else.." She was far too awake to do nothing. "You mean with that magic crystal? Tell me what you want, darling. I will go with you." He offered, but she shook her head. "Thanks. But I am gonna ask my friends first. It'd be weird if you went.. to where I want to go."

(To be Continued in Redux 049: Fair Share)

 **New Cards used by Uno Nisell  
** Performapal King Bear

 **Cards used by Minister Cardel  
** Flower Cardian Pine  
Flower Cardian Zebra Grass  
Flower Cardian Zebragrass with Moon  
Flower Cardian Paulownia  
Flower Cardian Paulownia with Phoenix  
Flower Cardian Willow with Calligrapher  
Flower Cardian Cherry Blossom with Curtain  
Flower Cardian Lightrain

-  
Card Regeneration


	42. Fair Share

**Redux 49: Fair Share**

He shouldn't have gone. It was a trap all along. Uno could handle one opponent. Two was getting risky, and there were plenty more hiding in the woods.

Uno's LP: 5700

Cardel's LP: 2800 Knight's LP: 8000

Luther the Knight possessed no qualms about unfair advantages, or any will of his own. He activated the continuous spell, Shiranui Style - Synthesis and normal summoned the tuner monster, Plaguespreader Zombie(2/400/200). Then he activated another spell, Left Arm Offering. "Sever your left hand, my Knight." Martel explained what his Knight needed to do. Luther banished three cards from his hand just to get a single spell (Foolish Burial) from the deck. One of those banished cards was Shiranui Solitaire. "When Solitaire is banished while Shiranui Style Synthesis is active, two banished Shiranuis will be special summoned." The Solitary zombie freed the other spirits exiled by Left Arm Offering; the tuner Shiranui Spectralsword(2/800/0) and the clan's swordsman Shiranui Samurai(4/1800/0). "Now Synchro summon." Martel moved one finger. Plaguespreader Zombie tuned with Shiranui Samurai to form Shiranui Samuraisaga the synchro warrior(6/2500/0). "Now synchro summon again." Spectralsword tuned with Samuraisaga, and Shiranui Shogunsaga(8/3000/0) emerged from the extra deck.

"How can you just let this happen? Isn't he one of yours?" The Knight used to be a duelist from the synchro guild, before Martel turned him into a mindless slave. "The guild and the Circle are not the same, Uno. This man was not part of the inner ranks." Cardel stated coldly. The Knight did not complain; he just kept climbing the synchro ladder. "Revive the Plague." Martel made his puppet send Foolish Burial to the top of the deck, which was the cost for the summoning the plague-carrying zombie back to the field. "Now summon again." Plaguespreader tuned with Shogunsaga, a zombie tuner with a zombie. The result was Shiranui Sovereignsaga the white-haired and white-eyed clan lord(10/3500/0), who rode in on his fiery horse. "A lord for a lord." Cardel laughed. SovereignSaga could send all Zombie-synchro monsters in the graveyard back to the extra deck, and destroy one card for each returned monster. "Ugh." The sovereign targeted Performapal Trumpanda(2/800/800) and Drummerilla(5/1600/900), sending the spirits of the other sagas to end their lives. Then with his own sword, he attacked and cut down Wisdom-Eye Magician(4/1500/1500)

Uno's LP: 3700

"You're all alone. You did not bring anyone." Martel flashed a wicked smile. "You have one fortune. In a game like this, you get one turn for each of your opponents." Once Luther ended his turn, it would be Uno's turn and not the Ministers. "Somehow that doesn't make it all better." Uno groaned. He'd take what he could get. "Echo Oscillation destroys Dragonpit Magician!" While it was still his opponent's turn, he reactivated his continuous trap to destroy a pendulum and draw a card from his deck. He got a spell. "My turn! I activate Amazing Pendulum! This card nabs two Magician pendulums from my extra deck!" The spell chose Wisdom-Eye Magician and Dragonpit Magician and Uno placed them in the pendulum zones. "I am sure you're not tired of this yet! I activate Wisdom-Eye's effect!" This turn the Wisdom Magician was tributed to place Xiangke Magician (scale 3) in the pendulum zone. "I activate Dragonpit's effect again!" Uno discarded the Nobledragon Magician tuner from his hand, so that Dragonpit Magician could destroy Cardel's second face-down card; a Flower Stacking spell card.

"Are we making jokes now, Lord Nisell? You are such a far cry from your brother.. and your own former self." Cardel scoffed. "The day humor dies, is the day I quit. And that's not gonna happen for a while! But don't worry. I'll try to be a bit more original with this.. Pendulum summon!" The pendulum swung between Xiangke and Dragonpit Magician (scale 8); special summoning Wisdom-Eye Magician, Dragonpulse Magician(4/1800/900) and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon(7/2500/2000) from the extra deck. Uno took his two level 4 monsters. "I overlay Wisdom-Eye with Dragonpulse to XYZ-summon Dark Rebellion!" The two Magicians formed a swirling vortex of darkness and thunder. "The copy.." Martel took a step back, as Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon(4/2500/2000) assumed its full form. "He'll take half your synchro's attackpoints!" Dark Rebellion detached both XYZ-materials to strike the Shiranui Lord with an electric current. His(1750/0) attackpoints were drained by the Dark Dragon(4250/2000). "And now activate my trap, Pendulum Back! I take two monsters from my graveyard, whose levels lie between my pendulum monsters scales!" Dragonpit and Xiangke opened up level 4 to 7 options. "I take Wisdom-Eye and Dragonpulse Magician." So Uno used that to put the detached Magicians back in his hand.

"But that's not all this 'dangerous' duelist can do!" Right now he could activate the effect of a certain Magician in his graveyard. "I special summon Nobledragon Magician by taking levels away from an Odd-Eyes monster!" The noble tuner(3/700/1400) in full white robes gained back her life, while Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon(4/2500/2000) lost three of his stars. "I tune Odd-eyes with Nobledragon and synchro summon Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon!" The dragons scales and wings turned smooth and curved like flames, and its body turned bright red. "Yes, Jim mentioned that once." This was the Meteoric dragon(7/2500/2000) that allowed Uno to escape the Circle the first time. "Meteorburst can special summon a pendulum monster that is currently a spell!" The dragon extended his tail towards Xiangke Magician. The shield-mage(8/2500/500) walked down to the field. "I know Shiranui Sovereignsaga can negate its own destruction, but Odd-Eyes Meteorburst blocks the effects of monsters during the battle phase! The synchro lord will be my first target!" The red Odd-Eyes summoned a blazing meteor and hurled it towards the undead Sovereign. The meteor impacted. "You should reconsider that." But it did not destroy the Sovereign, once Cardel activated his third trap card: Level Guard.

Knight's LP: 7250

 _Level Guard, Continuous Trap  
_ _Target the face-up monster on the field with the highest level; its level becomes 2 and its effects are negated.  
_ _The targeted monster cannot be destroyed by battle, and must be attacked by the monsters of it's controller's opponent, if they can attack._

"It's not going to be as easy as sorting us out one by one, Lord Fortuno." The trap targeted the Sovereign, taking eight of its ten stars to form a shield around it. "Are you sure about that? Are you protecting him, or protecting yourself?" Uno could not attack the minister while the Knight still had his monster on the field. "My other monsters will still fight the Sovereign!" Xiangke Magician and Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon flung energy stars and black bolts towards the Shiranui Lord. Performapal King Bear(6/2200/1000) and Oafdragon Magician(6/2100/1400) were also still around and joined the fray. None of their attacks put a dent in the armor of the synchro monster. The damage transferred to the duelist alone, and the Knight took the pain in silence. "And you are not even risking your neck." Uno had no fun expression for Martel. This guy was absolutely loathsome. "You just make people serve you. You don't know the first thing about friends."

Knight's LP: 3200

"What should I know? You are alone, I am not." Martel smirked. "Give it time.." Uno reactivated Echo Oscillations effect on Dragonpit Magician, destroying it to secure his umpteenth draw. "Meanwhile, I'll XYZ-summon Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon! I overlay Meteorburst Dragon with Xiangke Magician!" The destruction mage and meteor dragon turned into XYZ-materials for the Odd-eyes of ice, Absolute Dragon(7/2800/2500). "I think you will see what I mean, any minute now." Uno placed the Performapals Bubble Bowwow (scale 5) and Momoncarpet (scale 7) the flying circus squirrel in the vacated pendulum zones. "Any minute." And right at the end of his turn, a familiar sound crossed the horizon. "!" Templars; a good dozen of them flocked to the island. "There we go. Your deal is off the table, so you won't mind some interference right?" Uno did not plan on this. But he figured Marco and any nearby templars would eventually detect this ongoing duel.

"Well, this was annoyingly predictable." Said the rather short woman with green bobbed hair who walked out of the surrounding mob. "Oh.. hey there. Which guild are you from?" Not all of these people were Martels slaves? "I'm Marie Celeste, from the fusion guild. Or MC for short. And I really didn't want to be here." She grunted as one of her legs got caught on a twig. With her long labcoat getup, she didn't look like she fit in much. "But _apparently_ it was necessary to do this in person." She pushed a button on the side of her head, causing a visor to flip across her eyes. "Bah, they upgraded their security. I can't shut them down from here. I don't suppose you can entertain them." She asked Martel for a little help. "I do not enjoy mechanical opponents, but If we must." Martel raised his arms to the sky, and dozens of duelists walked out of the jungle like the walking dead. ".. How did you get so many people on this island anway?" There were enough to challenge the templars and to prevent them from assisting Uno. "You will figure it out." Martel smirked and walked off to join his army.

Celeste's LP: 8000

"Over here, Lord." At the same time, Celeste started drawing her cards. "Ugh." So she was going to be his third opponent; great. "You probably know these cards. So that's gonna save me some time." Celeste activated a field spell and a continuous spell; Geartown and Ancient Gear Catapult. The tropical forest transformed into a mechanical city of gears and stone. "Ancient Gear Catapult will destroy Geartown." The Catapult could, when the controllers field had no monsters on it, destroy one card each turn, to special summon an Ancient Gear monster from the players deck. "And I will summon Ancient Gear Hunting Hound." Geartown collapsed, and the metal remains were reforged into a mechanical hound(3/1000/1000) of bronze metal. "Also, Ancient Gear Gadget." Geartown, when destroyed, could special summon its own Ancient Gear monster from the deck. She chose the antique gear gadget-robot(4/500/2000). "I declare traps." Ancient Gear Gadget could choose one type of card and whenever a monster attacked this turn, those cards could not be activated. "Ancient Gears is it?" Machines did seem like the kind of monsters this woman would like.

"Yes. You want to know why?" Celeste activated the effect of Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, which allowed her to fuse Ancient Gears without a fusion spell. "I get to summon monsters like these." The Hound fused itself with Ancient Gear Gadget on the field and two Ancient Gears (Golem, Soldier) in MC's hand. "Ancient Gear.. Chaos Giant!" All that metal was put into one body, a titan(10/4500/3000) that towered over the trees. "The Giant?" This was more than Uno bargained for from just her first turn. He knew the Chaos Giant card, it could attack all monsters on the field once and was immune to all spell and trap effects. Also, no monster effects could be activated while it was battling. Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon could not negate any of this fusion monster's attacks. "This should be easy. I'm going into the battle phase.. now!" The Giant grabbed all four of Uno's monsters with its hound-shaped claws. "Kgh!" Dark-Rebellion, Odd-Eyes Absolute, Performapal King Bear and Oafdragon Magician were all thrown to the ground, flattening trees and sending smoke everywhere with their impact.

Uno's LP: 475

"Nh? You're still alive? By my calculations you should have taken 6650 points of battle damage from those four attacks." Celeste's visor picked up his lifepoint signs with her visor. "Normally yes. But while Performapal Momoncarpet is on the field, all battle damage is halved! Your Giant does not negate continuous effects, Celeste!" Uno shouted as he waved the dust and sand away. "Also by destroying Performapal Bubble Bowwow, I can negate the destruction of one monster that was summoned from the extra deck!" Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon was revealed to be the sole survivor of the onslaught. "Mgrr.. Of course. Still, what an ugly number to keep dueling with." She grumbled and placed one trap card down. _"She has a point, Uno..."_ He looked behind him. The Templars were gaining ground, but not quickly enough. _"You can't buy time with these lifepoints."_ Echo Oscillation destroyed Performapal Momoncarpet. Halving damage was not gonna save him anymore at this point. _"I have to find a way to take that Giant down."_ He drew his 'echoing' card and let his turn begin proper.

"I set the scales, Dragonpulse Magician and Wisdom-Eye Magician!" Once again, he needed Wisdom-Eye's insight. "I tribute Wisdom-Eye for Xiansheng Magician! Her scale stays at 8, as long as I don't control the most cards!" His enemies combined held five cards, while he only had four. "Pendulum summon!" So Xiangsheng the creation archer joined with Dragonpulse to set off a pendulum summon for Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Oafdragon Magician, Performapal Bubble Bowwow(5/2300/1000) and Performapal King Bear(6/2200/1000). "Yeah no." Marie Celeste activated her continuous trap: Rivalry of Warlords. "That's too much." Uno could not control more than one monster type as long as her trap was active. "Then I will stick with dragons!" Dark Rebellion and Odd-Eyes could stay on the field. The Performapals and Oafdragon Magician returned to the extra deck. "But.. Oafdragon Magician was still successfully summoned, so I can take one Magician from the graveyard back: Xiangke Magician!" The dying wind wizard pulled the destruction mage back from the dead.

Uno freed one pendulum zone for Xiangke (scale 3) by destroying Dragonpulse Magician with Echo Oscillation and drawing yet another card. "Xiangsheng Magician will raise an XYZ-monsters rank to that of a level 5 or higher monster on the field! Xiangke lets me use an XYZ-monster's rank as a level for an XYZ-summon!" The magicans of the beginning and the end targeted Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon(7/4250/2000) with their magic. "But first, I activate Pendulum Overlay! This lets me attach both my magician pendulums to Dark Rebellion!" Xiangke and Xiangsheng linked to the dark dragon as XYZ-materials. "So I can use his power again!" Dark Rebellion detached both Magicians and zapped Ancient Gear Chaos Giant. "Bah!" Celeste's gigantic machine(2250/3000) shrank in size, while the XYZ-Dragon(6500/2000) took half of its immense powers. "But, I really should get rid of that Shiranui first. So..."

 _Pendulum Overlay, Normal Spell_  
 _You can only use 1 effect of "Pendulum Overlay" per turn, and only once that turn._  
 _1) Xyz summon 1 Xyz Monster from your extra deck, using the appropriate pendulum monster(s) in your pendulum zones as Materials._  
 _2) You can target 1 Xyz Monster you control; attach 1 or more pendulum monster(s) in your pendulum zones to the target as Xyz Materials._

"I overlay Odd-Eyes with Dark Rebellion! XYZ-summon Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!" Odd-Eyes transformed into its supreme body of darkness, the perfect union between the XYZ Dragon and the Pendulum Dragon. "Since Odd-Eyes Rebellion was XYZ-summoned with a Dragon XYZ-monster as a material, it destroys all level 7 or lower monsters on the field, and inflicts 1000 points of damage to their controllers!" Dark destruction was delivered to Shiranui Sovereignsaga, Cardels own Level Guard trap doomed it. "..." The Knight took the effect damage and was pushed back. "And Odd-Eyes Rebellion gains three attacks this turn!" Uno sent the Rebellion dragon out to wreak havoc. "Guwahh!" Minister Cardel and Martels Shiranui puppet were blown away by fierce winds as Odd-Eyes Rebellion used two of its attacks to strike them directly. Then it circled around for its third sweep and tore through Ancient Gear Chaos Giant like a knife through butter. "Okay. That outcome was slightly above parameters.." Celeste was the only one still standing at this point. "I try." Uno placed a trap card and ended the turn.

Celeste's LP: 7250 Cardel's LP: 1000 Knight's LP: 0

"Looks like you're giving them quite a work-out, Uno." But just when things started to look up, disaster struck in the form of a fourth challenger.

Ichirou's LP: 8000

"You!" Even the new 'leader' of the XYZ-guild was here! "Shall I assist?" Ichirou the ever-grinning sycophant joined Marie Celeste's side. "It would be nice to not have to do _all_ the work around here." She grumbled. The Knight was out for the count and Martel was not lifting a finger to help. "Evidently." Ichirou activated his dueldisk. "Hello Uno. How is Adamant doing? Has his destiny become reality yet?" He chuckled to himself. "Rgh. So you _did_ join them, why?" Uno ignored the question and asked his own. "The alternative was to share Roma's fate. And that would be a waste." The duelist started drawing cards. "Besides, I am very adaptable. My guild had a neat idea, but the fusion guild's is clearly superior." He glanced back at Cardel, who was still struggling to get up. "A return to the magical world of old, doesn't it sound spectacular?"

"As long as we don't discard technology, yes. Now are you going to take your turn or not?" His partner griped. "Yes, yes. Of course. I summon my Phantom Knight of Cloven Helm." His first card was a blue spirit(4/1500/500) possessing a cracked helm and two silver gauntlets. "I also summon the trapmonster, Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine." When there were no traps in his graveyard, Ichirou could activate his trap on his first turn, to create the possessed Brigandine(4/0/300). "Now Uno, I have to say... While your dragon did well, it just cannot compete with the original." Ichirou overlayed the two Phantom Knights. "XYZ-summon! Dark Rebellion XYZ-Dragon!" Ichirou still had it, the first ever printed XYZ Dragon(4/2500/2000). "You know where this leads." Ichirou detached both materials from his dragon to start its effect. "No way! I activate my trap card, Misdirection Wing! My only monster on the field will gain 800 attackpoints, and yours will lose its effects!" But instead of weakening Odd-Eyes Rebellion, Uno's XYZ-monster(3800/2500) grew stronger, while the attackdrain was stopped.

 _Misdirection Wing, Normal Trap_  
 _Activate only if you control only 1 monster, negate an effect activated by 1 card your opponent controls, then target your monster: until the end of this turn, it gains 800 ATK._  
 _During your turn, you can banish this card from your Graveyard, then target 1 monster you control; until the end of this turn, it gains 800 ATK._

"Oh, how unfortunate. It appears your creation is still greater. And what a powerhouse it is; it evolved in such a beautiful way." Ichirou did not appear to be phased all that much. "But these dragons can evolve in more than one way." He activated a spell card: Rank-Up-Magic: The Phantom Knights' Launch. "Rank-Up-Magic?" Uno gasped. "Very befitting of the XYZ-guild leader, wouldn't you agree? Adamant is not the only one anymore. With The Phantom Knights' Launch, I will XYZ-evolve one dark-rank 4 monster on the field." Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon was turned into an XYZ-material, dark plasma covered its whole body. "I XYZ-summon a rank5 monster: Dark Requiem XYZ Dragon!" The darkness cracked like petrified skin and the new dragon(5/3000/2500) broke out.

"Requiem?! How?" Bone-spined, plates and ribs covered the the dragons body, while horns grew out of its head, tail and claws. "Soon we will have the same gifts you have, Uno. The power to create. But until then, we can make use of the printer your namesake gave the guilds. Dark Requiem's power is twice that of Dark Rebellion's! When it has Dark Rebellion attached to itself.." Ichirou detached the rank 4 dragon from the rank 5 dragon. "It can take away all attackpower and add the original points to itself." Rivers of black blood stabbed Odd-Eyes Rebellion and sucked it(0/2500) dry. The energy was stored inside Dark Requiem(6000/2500). "Ugh. No.." Uno couldn't fight back against that. "This is the end, Uno." Ichirou made his dragon fly into the air. Barriers of light filled its wings with stained glass patterns. "If I lose..." He could not even run from this. "The world will be destroyed, don't you see that?" He shouted. "You don't have to worry about that anymore." Ichirou smiled.. and ordered an attack. "!" Dark Requiem's blast took down Odd-Eyes Rebellion. _"Guys.."_ And Uno fell..

Uno's LP: 0

(To be Continued in Redux 048: A Few Relative Facts)

 **New Cards used by Uno Nisell  
** Performapal Momoncarpet

-  
Amazing Pendulum

-  
Pendulum Back

 **New Cards used by 'Knight' Luther  
** Plaguespreader Zombie

-  
Shiranui Sovereignsaga

-  
Left Arm Offering

 **New Cards used by Minister Cardel  
** _Level Guard_

 **Cards used by Marie Celeste  
** Ancient Gear Gadget  
Ancient Gear Hunting Hound  
Ancient Gear Golem  
Ancient Gear Soldier

-  
Ancient Gear Chaos Giant

-  
Ancient Gear Catapult  
Geartown

-  
Rivalry of Warlords

 **New Cards used by Ichirou  
** The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm

-  
Dark Requiem XYZ Dragon

-  
The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch


	43. A Few Relative Facts

**Redux 48: A Few Relative Facts**

Amelia Brandt was a girl who preferred the normal life. There was nothing wrong with a small quiet town and a day-to-day agenda. She could no longer claim that she had never seen something unordinary though. Two days ago, there had been an incident in front of her home. It had nothing to do with her, was what the government, her parents and her mind were saying to her. Yet she could not shake the feeling that it wasn't over. And she was right, because one of the images from that recent past returned. "It's you." She saw the young girl again, with the blue dress, blonde hair and hazel eyes. "Ah.. hi. I just.. please don't be scared." The image was not as startling this time around. "I am not. I am just.. I didn't think I'd see you again. When did you get here?" Amelia spoke carefully. It was lunchbreak during school hours and she was sure she'd never seen this girl here before. What was she doing here? "Just now. I only wanted.. I had to come back to say sorry for what happened." The girl claimed. "Hm? But I understand why it happened now. Those men from the Union told us that you were high-Scale duelists sent to investigate a malfunction in the neighborhood network."

"Oh." The truth was not given to Amelia or the Brandts the truth at all, not even the fact that they were watching them now. "That's not everything.." Then again, this girl had been watching Amelia for a while too. "Ah! I should tell you my name! It's Alice B.. Alice." She wanted to pass on the whole story. "Alice? That's a nice name. And I guess I told you mine before. But there's more?" Amelia did not really understand why, but she felt her uneasiness fade away. "Uh. I'm.. not really from the union. Yeah. I'm just someone who wants you to be safe." Alice stammered, she was already losing control of herself. "Safe? ..Me? Why me? Do you know me.. from somewhere?" She was weirding Amelia out, but not chasing her away. "You want to know?" Alice could just as well take that chance. "Uhh.." While hesitant, Amelia still could not find it in her to say no. "I do now." It was like this girl knew exactly how to push her buttons. "Okay. Here I go.." Alice took a deep breath.

And then she told her as much as she could in one minute, from the truths of the other dimension to the existence of Emily Brandt, and the nature of her relationship with the Brandt family. "Ah.." Amelia began to show signs of a response, once Alice stopped talking. "Aha..hahahahaa!" The bewilderment turned to laughter, astonishing Alice. "I'm sorry! I'm not laughing at you. It's just.." Amelia controlled herself. "That's a really tall tale, isn't it? It's fine if you can't tell me what's really going on. But you didn;t need to invent that much of a cover story." It was beyond obvious that Amelia did not believe her. Nevertheless this was now how Alice thought she would react. "But.." Now she was starting to wonder if this wasn't for the best. Amelia did not need to be troubled and Alice was glad that she wasn't scaring her off either. In fact she caught Amelia's curiosity. "What is Emily like then? What is your world like then? Compare the two." Amelia sat down on a nearby bench. "Huh? Compare? You're okay with me staying? Do you have time for it?"

"Next class doesn't start for a while. Do you have the time? I suppose you're too young to be a millennium worker, so shouldn't you be in a school too?" Amelia asked. "Uh.. it's not that simple." Alice's voice trailed off. "Well. There's something about you, so yeah I want to hear more. I don't really get it, but I can't let it go now." Amelia explained. "Well, I don't know that much about you, or your family. The dad I know works at a mine. Mom's a politician. And you.. you're kind and strong and determined and everything! You're a cool big sister!" Alice gushed, letting it all out. "Cool big sister?" Amelia admitted to herself, that that sounded nice. But it did not sound like her. "Oh I mean.. _you_ are probably cool too!" Alice quickly added. "And your world is cool! You have all kinds of stuff that we don't have! Like those cars! Or cities! We do have schools tho! Emily and me aren't that bad, she just doesn't like math very much." Alice paused to catch her breath again. "Maybe.. we are more alike than I thought then." Amelia had little love for mathematics herself. "..I don't know. It all sounds too mad to be real, but you seem so sure of it."

"Ah! I can tell you how I got here, if you want! It will be a neat trick!" Alice pulled the pendulum from her dress pocket and showed it to Amelia. "That jewel? You mean you can make it glow?" Amelia's eyes were instantly drawn towards the crystal. "No I.." The crystal that was glowing fiercely. "Huh? It didn't do that before?" Alice flinched. The colors inside the crystal were shifting from red to blue to green. "This is.. bad. It's...Uno!"

...

Uno's LP: 0

 _"Ohhh..."_ After the fall, the senses dulled and his surroundings stopped making sense. The guilds beat him; used every method possible to take his power. He couldn't move, he was at their mercy. He could not even stop one of them from taking his deck away. The Minister pulled Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon from the stack of cards and showed it to Marie Celeste.

"This is what you wanted?"

"You know it is." The tech-woman reached for the card. "Remember our agreement, MC. We want control of our castle and our men again." Cardel pulled the card back. "You're bartering now? Wasn't Bakker enough?" She muttered. The Templars were getting closer, they didn't have a lot of time. "Oh fine. We will see what we can do about our 'prisoners'. Consider 'Luther' a down-payment." She snatched the Odd-Eyes card and walked away. "The knight? Is that okay with Martel?" Ichirou asked the puppetmaster. "He has failed me twice now. He is not a good pawn." Martel eyed the still unconscious Shiranui duelist with disgust. "I already have a new Knight." He took the card with Luther's face on it and tossed it away. "That sounds like a settlement to me." Cardel smirked. "Yeah. Once we're off this dirthole, we'll split." Celeste flipped back her visor. "You do your thing, we do ours." Martel then walked in between her and Ichirou, and pulled out his stuffed doll. "..." As he dug his fingers into the dolls head, he whispered some inaudible chant.. "Farewell." The Fusion/XYZ trio vanished along with Uno and the synchro duelists, in a flash of blue light.

...

"we lost him." All traces of Uno disappeared from the network in that moment, his dueldisk data was deleted and the Templars lost visuals. "No! How could you let this happen?" Iria, Marco and Anastasia had been helplessly watching the four-on-one duel from the network center in the control city. "I did all that was Possible! My Pendulum would not let Me jump to the Island." Marco cursed. "Then why didn't you send more Templars?" The disciple shouted again. "Those were all the Available Units! That should have been Enough!" Uno and the guilds were dueling in the middle of the ocean. The Union did not even know where they were until Uno activated his dueldisk. "They weren't." Those Templars were occupied by the guild's 'puppets'. Only those duelists were left on behind on the island, transformed back into cards and collected by the Templars. "When this duel started, we only detected two dueldisks in the area. The others arrived here undetected." The technicians at the network center had no explanation for how things got out of control either.

"...Rewind the footage." Iria wanted to see the last few minutes again. "There. It was him." She pointed at captured footage of Martel. Even though the image was grainy when zoomed in, they could tell that he was doing something with his strange doll before he and everyone else teleported away. "it's..." Anastasia shuddered. "he reminds me of..." There was no mistaking it, this was the same as their power. "You're suggesting That man has a pendulum Crystal as well? That is not Possible. All crystals are Accounted for. Besides the one from the Zodiac Travelers, there are only Three in Existence." Marco took a small embroidered case from his pocket and opened it to confirm to her that his pendulum crystal was still inside. "And you are not lying about that?" Iria rasped. "i would not lie about this. the crystals are sacred. without them, I wouldn't even be here." Anastasia gave an concise and contrite response. "Perhaps they took a Crystal from one of the Red Mans companions?" The Lord blustered. "Or they found a way to create their own teleporter." Iria theorized. It would explain how Phoebe and Martel escaped the tunnel maze before, when all exits were guarded. "And now they have an actual pendulum." This was the worst-case scenario, the guilds all working together would bring untold consequences. "Where is the third crystal? Does Alice still have it? We need to find her!"

...

"Uno? Was he the one who was attacked by the Templars? Is he in trouble again?" Amelia did not know what exactly was going on, except that it did not sound good. "I don't know. This crystal doesn't normally light up like this, but.. he was going somewhere dangerous.." Alice got up from the bench. "Adamant!" And she called for her traveling partner. "Wh.. how long was he there?" Amelia flinched when she saw the XYZ-duelist pop up from around the corner. "As long as I needed to be to ensure your safety. Do not fault her, it was my suggestion." He knew his presence would unnerve her. "I'm sorry, Amelia. We gotta go..." Alice said, yet she was stopped. "Huh?" Adamant placed his hand on her shoulder. "Not yet. Something is wrong. Listen.." He waited. "I don't hear anything." Alice said eventually. "Precisely." There were no voices, no footsteps, nothing. They were right next to a school building that was as quiet as a graveyard. "Ah!" Amelia shrieked when she saw why. "They're all.." Her classmates, the teachers; everyone was standing around like a collection of statues. "What's wrong with them?" Nobody moved, spoke or reacted to each other or to them. "Oh no." This was not the first time Alice experienced this.

"Desynchronization." Adamant muttered.

"An astute observation." The silence was broken by the sound of pulsing energy and the voice of an old enemy. "Aaron?!" Alice turned around and there he was. "Your face..." He did not look like the man from before, he carried Aarons face again. And he was not alone. Cassius escorted a woman in a hovering wheelchair. "..and Vesper." It was the founder of the Circle, the grey-haired woman who seemed chairbound in this timeline as well. "What? Who are they? Do they know what's happening?" Amelia was understandably freaked out. "They are the Circle. People we have been trying to protect your family from. _She_ is the one who paralyzed everyone around us." Adamant stepped in front of the girls. "But I thought she needed that big room to do all that?" Right now Vesper was just sitting out in the open. "With the limited technology of the other world, yes I did. I could build a portable version of the synchronizer, with the machines from this world." The woman tilted her head to the side to reveal a large cable connected to the spine of her neck, and more wires were attached to her wrists. "Everyone within a yard radius has been desynchronized from time, except for you three."

"Except us? Why would you do that? What do you want?" Amelia cried out. "Did these two tell you who they are? There is a reason why we couldn't desynchronize them. They were not born in this timeline, one of them never was." Cassius glared at the two duelists. "I tried..." Alice countered. "What? You mean.. that story was true?" Amelia couldn't believe it, not even now. "Those whose minds have been split across two dimensions, those are the ones I can affect. I stop them, by displacing those minds from this universe. It is only temporary. Until we convinced you, we did not want any outside noise." That was the trick behind her power, and the source of their synchronization. "But why do you want to.. do it to me?" If what Alice had told her was true as well, then these people wanted to combine her mind with the mind of the 'Amelia' that Alice knew. "Because, the world is dying. And this is the only way we can save you.. and your family. James and Heather Brandt, we desire to rescue all of them. That counts for your father too, Alice."

"But.. No! What did you do to Uno? Why aren't you there with him?" Alice turned the questioning around. Because she knew Cassius promised to be somewhere else. "We switched tasks, I wanted to be here to talk to Amelia. We knew that we had to act quickly if the arrangements fell through." And they had. "You expected it. Uno was never going to give you what you wanted." Adamant knew Uno enough to predict that, and he knew Cassius enough to see that the synchro duelist would count on that. "We tried to tell him that the pendulum crystal is the source of all this chaos. All of them must be destroyed. And we know how. We didn't expect to see you here, but we aren't here to fight." Cassius claimed as he saw Adamant reaching for his dueldisk. "You have given up, Cassius, if you think that your way is the only way." Adamant refused to stand down. "Is this about the prophecy again, Adamant? It is too late for that, the Fusion guild is the one who is closest to fulfilling it. They are the ones who have all the keys to the vault. But none of that will matter once we have destroyed the pendulums."

"The keys?" Alice gasped. "Odd-Eyes." That was the one thing Phoebe needed. "What have you done?" Adamant came to the same revolting realization. "It was a shortlived alliance. We joined forces." Vesper confessed without regrets. "You let them _have_ the Pendulum dragon!?" Adamant growled in anger. "We have no secrets anymore. Yes, we did. Everything the Circle has done has been for the people of the world. The Union would not listen to us, they would not accept the existence of a second dimension or that they were endangering us! And now we find out that the true power behind Millennium has been using pendulums power all along? They wouldn't care which one it was. They just wanted to keep everything hidden and wait until one world died. Just like you, Alice, they can just move on to another timeline and start all over again! We will end this! That is why I knew Uno wouldn't cooperate. He is one of them, a Nisell! He will never learn to let go of that power. We must make sure we have the power to secure the future. Now that the fusion guild has the power to bring back the past. The synchro guild sees that now... your sister sees it too."

"Emily?"

"Yes. She has become one of us, Alice. Amelia, and Emily are a part of the future. Let us help you." Cassius extended a hand. "But..I." It was getting to be too much for her. "I can't.. what about the others?" She couldn't stand the frozen stares of everyone in the school anymore, but she did not want to go with him either. "They will be released, as soon as we can leave." Cassius pledged to her. "Then.. Then I will." And she relented. "Amelia. You cannot trust this man." Adamant tried to change her mind, but she walked to the synchro duelists nonetheless. "If I don't..." Amelia was too afraid to say no. "Come with us and see for yourself what we we do, Adamant. If you truly do not have faith in us. You will get to see Uno as well, that way. You will be not our prisoners, but our guests." Vesper's offer was becoming difficult to resist. "Uno.. Emily.. Amelia." Alice did not want to see any of them go away. "Adamant. We have to.." There was only one thing to do. "...I understand." He could not see this end well. However for now he would hold back and keep his dueldisk offline. "We will follow you, Cassius."

Amelia, Adamant and Alice were led to a white limousine parked one street away from the school. Once they stepped inside, time resumed for those outside. "Thank goodness." Amelia sighed as the car took off. She saw the villagers go back to their daily routine, they were not even aware of their lost time. "You controlled the whole block." Adamant said. Vespers power was even greater here, and more dangerous. "No more secrets you said... The threat from the other world was never Millennium, was it?" Besides the founding family and a select few institutes, nobody seemed to have realized the existence of the other timeline. "It was you; The Circle." Vesper herself once said that she was one of the first discoverers. "We are no threat. The only invasion is the one you and your superiors imagined when they learned of this world, so they could excuse a counter-invasion. We merely used insiders to spread false information to lead you to selfdestruction." Vesper gladly answered him.

"But.. what is going to happen now? What does synchronization mean?" Amelia was still scared out of her mind, there were strangers all around her. "It means that we will connect your mind to that of 'Emily', the you who lives in the other world. You will be one. And when one world passes away, only the body will disappear. The minds will come together. It wont hurt a bit, Amelia. Vesper and me have gone through the same thing." One stranger talked kindly with an easygoing smile. "But Emily wouldn't want that! She wouldn't do that without asking her!" The other was fiercely fighting for her. Amelia did not know why she would trust either of them. "Why don't you ask her yourself?" Vesper suddenly said. "What?" Alice flinched. "Amelia. You are very sleepy.." The woman intoned. "Wha..I'mnot.." Amelia dozed off before she knew it.

"Hey! Why did you.." Not even Alice's cries woke her up. "To show you. Now that Amelia is here, I could finish the incoming synchronization. In the other world, we lost most of our equipment when the fusion guild claimed the castle. But we salvaged the synchronizer and, just like we took in your sister, we took it with us. She is waiting, she has been by our side while you where in this dimension." Vesper was finished, and Amelia jolted back to life. "!" She stared right at Alice. "... Emily?"

"Alice! I made it!"

(To be Continued in Redux 047: Square World in a Round Universe)


	44. Square World in a Round Universe

**Redux 47:** **Square World in a Round Universe**

In spite of recent developments, the Millennium palace maintained a peaceful atmosphere. "Do we have to be here? I feel like we should be doing something else right now." But as quiet as the higher ups were being, Stonewell knew bad things were happening. Uno was not back yet. "This is important too. You don't have to go with me." Tory on the other hand insisted on visiting the infirmary. "You think I am going to let you go off by yourself? Those people already attacked someone before." With puppets and 'synchronized' spies running about, his impression of this city was even worse than when he first arrived. "They're innocent, Eric. Not everyone is dangerous." They were at the door, she was not going to change her mind now.

"Hey. Anyone here?" She thought there'd be a lot more activity inside. "..I guess that disciple guy got better." Zach's bed was empty. On the other hand, the pawn was still in a deep coma. The only one awake was.. "That guy." Bishop, the Triamid duelist. "Oh. Hi." He welcomed the guests with a tired smile. "Geez, you look terrible. Did they give you stuff to eat?" The kid was still trapped behind a forcefield, for his own safety as well. "They do. I am simply not hungry." His plate was right next to him on a small table. "Oh yeah. I heard what happened to you. You turned into a card too, right? Well, same here.. " This was one reason she wanted to go down here, because she could not stand knowing there were others like her, treated this way. "You were one too?.. Do you.. remember anything?" Bishop asked her with a shaking voice. "Hey, she doesn't have to talk about that." Stonewell raised his fist. "Uhm, calm down Eric. It's okay. I can.. say it. I don't remember what it was like to be.. well.. a card." For Tory that time moved fast like a dream of abstract colors. "But you seem to have kept your memories. Then.. I am glad for you. You did not stay inside long.. I.."

"If we are talking about this, can you say anything about what you remember? Like, locations or secret plans and such?" Stonewell asked offhandedly. "Don't you think that's a bit much?" Tory hissed. "Well, we're getting nowhere elsewise." He shrugged. "I'm sorry again. But I don't remember that either. I was always.. not human, when Martel took me places." Bishop shuddered as he involuntary recalled the experience. "Hmph. Let's stop here then." Even Stonewell could see this was doing nobody any pleasure. " These people leave no trace. If only.. huh?" Stonewell heard a beeping noise. "Is that the communicator? Is it one of the Limbos?" Tory recognized the sound. "Why would they call now?.." Stonewell took the device and held it to his ear. "Yes? What is it? You know where I am, right? This isn't... What?" His eyes widened. "Say that again!"

...

"Are you sure they're not there?.. She said she would be. I should never have let her go." When James heard what happened to Uno, the first thought immediately went out to his own daughter. "My apologies. They checked the area and they could not find her. Nor could they locate Amelia." Iria spoke with him before to find out where the second pendulum crystal was presently. James told her everything he knew. "If Adamant went with her, she has to be safe.. right? And didn't Marco say that Amelia was supposed to be guarded?" Eric was not happy with the news either, it was bad enough that they lost Uno. "I fear that this has the Circle's touch all over it. The agents who were posted there blacked out for a full minute and suddenly lost sight of their target." This was not the first time something like that had happened. "That wheelchair woman!" Eric and the others experienced a 'paralysis' like it back in the synchro guild's castle. "But Alice was immune to her! And she has the pendulum! She could just zap herself back here if she's in danger!"

"I wish I could tell you you are right. But she has not returned." Though the other Nisells dodged Iria's questions, it was clear that their control over the pendulum was weakened somehow. "Uno could not use his crystal to get away from the guilds. Alice may be facing the same dilemma." Wherever they were, escape would not be so simple. And she, Amelia and Uno could have gone anywhere.

...

"You are ... Emily?" Amelia was gone. "Yeah. It's me." Another mind took her voice and body, a mind that recognized Adamant. "I can't believe it worked. I am really here.." 'Emily' balled her own hand into a fist. She was in full control. "Good to see you again too, Cassius." She was seeing so many faces she hadn't seen in a long time. "It is nice to hear from you too. I couldn't be there for you before, but I did not want to miss this." With just this one body, this was the only way that Cassius could see her. Of course he did not want to greet her with the false face he wore yesterday. "I even prepared a new deck for you." He gave 'Emily' a set of wind-attribute cards. "Huh. You shouldn't have." She put those aside for now. "Ah." But as excited as Cassius got, Alice experienced the most emotions. At the start she could only sit there in stunned silence. "Aha..hahah... Emily!" Then every unpleasant memory and circumstance that brought her here washed away, along with her composure. "It's really you!" She leaped forward and wrapped her arms around her. "Ow! Calm down, Alice!" The embrace hurt, this body was weaker than what Emily was used too.

"Ah.. but.." Alice realized this too. This did not feel like she was hugging her sister. "This is wrong! What about Amelia? Where is she? In _your_ body?" She pulled back. "It doesn't work like that exactly. My other body is asleep right now, in a bunker owned by the synchro guild. Akai and Jet and the others are there too, to make sure I don't get hurt. Amelia can't go there until we synchronize her too. She's in here, Alice. I wouldn't do this without her. I told the Circle from the beginning that I would only agree to this if Amelia agreed as well." She shared a quick look with Vesper. "In the end, she will see the justness of our cause. Just as you have." The woman gave her a strange smile. "And what about everything else? Did you tell her about what you have done to Uno, what you gave the fusion guild?" Adamant questioned the two synchro duelists. Unexpectedly.. "They did." Emily was the one who responded. "But you guys don't have the full picture. What the Circle is going to do will save everyone!" At that point the car they were in drove up a mountainroad. "They will understand soon, Emily. Just wait."

A few minutes later a tunnel came up, which the limousine headed into. It extended far and deep into the mountain. "Welcome to where the Circle began." Vesper announced, as they entered a large hollowed out space. "Ah.." It looked like a research center set up inside the mountain caves; with trailers, machines and power generators stacked everywhere. There were a lot of familiar and unfamiliar faces; like Gareth the synchro duelist and Jim the bodyguard. "But where is Uno?" Alice did not see him yet. "Just up ahead. Follow me. But first I am gonna have to ask you to disarm yourself.." Cassius looked at Adamant. "It's just a precaution." Emily added. The solid vision disk could do a lot of unwanted damage after all. "Very well." The XYZ-duelist did as he was told, for now. "Thank you." Jim approached him and took his dueldisk.

"...I remember you." It was then that Adamant noticed Joris Bakker, the fusion guild duelist who was actually the Circle's spy. "But he turned into a card.." Alice would never forget that horrifying image. "That was my other body, the one who didn't have a clue about me. But don't worry, the fusion guild let him go as part of our very brief alliance. Thanks to me, all of this could happen." He boasted. "Thanks to you? I see; you were the prisoner the fusion guild used for negotiation." Martel was the one who held the 'cardified' Bakker. He likely transformed him back just to get a chance to talk with a member of the Circle. "It was your protege's idea, Adamant. See, _he_ learned how to adapt." Bakker sneered. "Most of us came here for this event, for this great step forwards." Cassius spoke with a triumphant fervor. "We are almost ready to begin." He gave Vesper a nod. The chairbound woman went her own way and secluded herself inside a round chamber at the center of the cave.

"First, I will show you where we kept Uno. This way." The duelists walked through a carved out pathway, through several doors secured by multiple keycards. They came across somewhat smaller room, with metal plates across the wall, and barrier generators embedded into the ground. "Uno!" And there he was, locked inside a provisional cell. "Why did you bring these people here?" Cardel the Minister was also present to keep an eye on this guest. "To show them that we aren't out to hurt anyone." The synchro duelist realized that their message was a bit muddled now. "What did you do to him?" Alice yelled. Uno was out cold, his skin bruised. "Cassius..did.." Even Emily was troubled by this image. "The Fusion and XYZ-guild went a little outside of their bounds during the duel. The rest is just exhaustion. As soon as we are through with the plan, Uno is free to go and do as he pleases." The minister explained. "The plan.. and the guilds you helped get the ultimate cards... Tell me, how can you counter that with Uno's pendulum?"

"It is quite simple, Adamant. The pendulums power, like synchronization, can cross time and space. Vesper has the crystal now, in her own chamber. She is using them to reach out to pendulum crystals in both 'present worlds'. And once she's found them all, we proceed to the next step." Cardel clasped his hands. "She will send a signal, that desynchronizes the crystals themselves. This will permanently disrupt their powers, and all other powers that do not come from this time. Special powers like Martel or the Nisells will be reduced to commoners, and cards like the four apocalyptic dragons will lose all connection to their spiritual past." The fusion guild would wind up with a treasure trove of useless cards, if their plan succeeded. But there were negative consequences as well. "Destroy.. the power? But.. you can't! So many people will be stuck in the wrong world if you do! Eric and Stonewell will implode! Maybe!" The pendulum was the only thing that could take everyone back to where they belonged. "The pendulum-desynch will automatically force everyone back to their home world. We analyzed this, Alice. Nobody will lose in this scenario." Cassius assured her. Adamant saw their benevolence differently. "And you.. will win everything." Adamant shook his head. "You don't get to.." Cassius turned to him to give him another lecture.

"Ngh!?" And that was the opportunity Emily took to push him to the floor. "Emily!?" She blindsided him, he was too dazed to stop her from stealing his dueldisk. "What do you think you are doing?" Cardel turned his dueldisk on and she countered with hers. "Someone make sure nobody heard that, and that Cassius stays put!" Emily yelled while she did not let the minister out of her sight. "Emily? You were.." Alice's face brightened with joy. "Playing along." Adamant smirked as he made sure the doors were locked. Then he pinned the struggling Cassius down. "Emily!? Why? I thought you understood! You've been lying to me all this time? Why? How?!" Cassius cried out. "Yeah.. Emily. How? I though Vesper could read everyone's minds?" Her sister had a better pokerface than her, but telepaths weren't usually fooled by that. "Vesper couldn't read my mind without the proper machines. The Fusion guild took most of her stuff, remember? Heck, these guys depended so much on Vespers 'reads' that they couldn't even tell I was bluffing when I said was okay with their plans."

"Hrmph. I told you not to let your other half's desires get in the way, Cassius. You saw what you wanted to see." Cardel stepped forward. "What was your plan after you locked yourself in? Where does it go from here? It will only be a matter of time before Vesper finds out what is going on. If she has not already." The minister taunted as he started drawing his cards. "That's why I had to wait until I was far away from her and close to Uno. But I didn't want too wait too long." Vesper probably had a mindreading machine in this base too. She could only hope that the esper lady was distracted right now. "Cassius only has a body in this timeline, so he can't get in the way. I just didn't count on you being here. Good thing you're busy with minister stuff in my world too." There was nobody who could immediately deal with her original body. "But you wont get to Uno, or to the outside world, until you deal with me." Cardel flashed a keycard. "The minister has become the warden." Adamant scoffed. "A duel with you? Sounds easy to me." Emily accepted the challenge and drew her five cards.

Cardel's LP: 8000 Emily's LP: 8000

"So you betray us, after everything we have done for you." Cardel took the first turn. "That takes a lot of audacity, young lady." He placed two trap cards and one monster face-down. "Well, I never saw myself as one of you, so it doesn't really count. I only pretended just so I could see Alice again. But okay, you did help me. You made me a stronger duelist!" She placed two cards on either side of her field. "Pendulum monsters?" Adamant gasped. They were Superheavy Samurai General Jade (scale 1) and Superheavy Samurai General Coral (scale 8); two cards that did not exist one week ago. "Pendulum summon! Superheavy Samurai Drum and SoulPiercer!" Between Jade and Coral, the Superheavy tuner Drum(1/300/300) and the Superheavy Arrow shooter(4/1200/0) were special summoned. "And I synchro summon Superheavy Samurai Musashi in defense mode!" The drum tuned itself with Soulpiercer, uniting into the red and gold samurai swordsman Musashi(5/300/2300). "You're not even using the deck I gave you." Cassius moaned. "Sorry, Cassius. I'll always prefer slow over fast." Right now she was using a digital back-up of her existing deck. Her cards were one thing she could not carry over into this new world, of course

"Because Soulpiercer was sent to the graveyard, I can take a Superheavy Samurai from my deck." She grabbed a Superheavy Samurai Battleball monster with the first effect. "Also, a synchro summoned Musashi puts a machine from the graveyard in my hand!" The synchro's effect brought back the Superheavy Soulpiercer. "I can equip Soulpiercer as a spell to Musashi. Now he gets to pierce through any monsters defense points!" Musashi discarded his sword for the soul bow and took aim. "My Superheavy will attack with his defense!" The arrow was released and shot throughCardel's facedown Flower Cardian Pine(1/100/100). "Rgh. When Flower Cardian Pine is destroyed, I may draw one new card." He took 2300 points of piercing damage, but he also drew a new card from his deck. "Flower Cardians? Well whatever. My pendulum Superheavy Samurai General Coral can let my Samurais attack again if they destroy one monster!" The red coral general commanded Musashi to fire another shot with the Soulpiercer. "I knew you could. So I activate my trap, Flower Trading, and summon another Flower Cardian from my deck." The destroyed pine-image card was replaced with a card that showed a tentacle plant(12/100/100).

Cardel's LP: 5700

 _Flower Trading, Normal Trap_  
 _When a monster you control is destroyed by battle or a card effect and sent to the graveyard; Special summon 1 "Flower Cardian" monster from your deck._

"Ah, watch out Emily! Flower Cardian Paulownia can negate one attack and draw one new card.!" Alice yelled. "Bah." Emily rescinded her attack order, thanks to the replay rule. "Do not under-estimate me, Emily Brandt. I've been playing this game long before you ever touched your first card." Cardel took his turn now. "You may think you know what you are doing, but you are very much mistaken..." Cardel revealed a card from his hand. "I activate Flower Cardian Cherry Blossom with Curtain. I draw one card, and if it is a Cardian.." Cardel drew Flower Cardian Peony with Butterfly from his deck. "I can summon the monster." The curtain cardian(3/2000/2000) brought itself to the field. "I can also special summon Flower Cardian Peony with Butterfly by tributing any Cardian." Cardel tributed Cardian Paulownia for a lower-leveled Cardian(6/1000/1000). Its panel displayed two Blazewing Butterflies flying over a red flower. "When Peony is summoned, it draws one card." Cardel drew another monster: Flower Cardian Zebragrass. "If it is a Cardian, Peony will rearrange the top three cards from your deck." Emily's next three cards were reshuffled, while the minister also special summoned a Cardian Zebragrass(1/100/100) with its own effect.

"And Peony with Butterfly is a tuner. It turns the levels of all my Cardians to 2! I wil use all as synchro materials to synchro summon Flower Cardian Moonflower!" The Peony (2/2000/2000) altered the levels and synchronized with Cherry Blossom(2/2000/2000) and Zebra Grass(2/100/100). A pale red-eyed geisha(6/2000/2000) in a black dress. "Moonflower draws one card by skipping my next drawphase. This time, if I draw a cardian. It may be summoned and strike directly." Cardel pulled the next card from his deck; a spell card called Super Koikoi. "What's the matter, finally run out of Cardians?" Emily chuckled. "Heh. Did you think I prepared just the one strategy? Now I can begin my second by activating Flower Stacking! This spell moves three Cardians to the top of my deck!" He took another Cardians Cherry Blossom with Curtain, Zebragrass with Moon and Willow. "Then I activate Super Koikoi. This spell excavates the top three cards from my deck. I lose 1000 lifepoints for each card that is not a Cardian, however.." Naturally there was no chance of that happening with his 'stacked' deck. "When I excavate a Cardian, regardless of how it should normally be summoned, it will be put on my field with its level reduced to 2." Super Koikoi special summoned the Cherry Blossom(2/100/100), Willow(2/100/100) and Zebragrass with Moon(2/2000/2000) Cardians all at once.

"Well that's annoying." Emily grumbled. "Please stop this, Emily. You can't win." Cassius pleaded. "Do not give up. This duel has only just begun!" Adamant shouted to counter the pleas. "Yeah, those Cardians dont even have effects!" Alice joined in. As it turned out,Super Koikoi negated the effects of the Cardians it summoned. "Heh. Moonflower can change her own level as well, while treating herself as a tuner!" The geisha(2/2000/2000) did a dance between the cards, combining with the three other panels. "I synchro summon, Flower Cardian Lightshower!" The Cardian rainman(8/3000/3000) once again entered life through the four-card-combo. "Attack Musashi." Lightshower spun his umbrella around until he gathered enough energy to release a blast of lightning. The thunderbolt fried the Superheavy Swordsman with his Soulpiercer. "Every turn you draw, Lightshower will inflict 1500 points of damage. It cannot be destroyed or targeted by card effects either. So just surrender, Emily Brandt. You can not fight the future. Those that do, will have _no_ future."

(To be Continued in Redux 046: Double Edged Trust)

 **New Cards used by Emily Brandt  
** Superheavy Samurai General Jade  
Superheavy Samurai General Coral

 **New Cards used by Cardel Gerber  
** Flower Cardian Willow  
Flower Cardian Peony with Butterfly

-  
Flower Cardian Moonflower

-  
Flower Stacking  
Super Koikoi

 _-  
Flower Trading_


	45. Double-Edged Trust

**Redux 46: Double-Edged Trust**

Cardel's LP: 5800 Emily's LP: 8000

"Emily. Just think about this. You don't know Uno, you can't trust his power! The pendulum started all of this." At the start of Emily's next turn, Cassius threw another appeal to her feelings. "Just because I've known you longer, doesn't make you right and him wrong, Cassius." She was dueling to save Uno, to stop someone who she used to see as a friend. "Heyaaaha!" And right away, she received a large dosage of electric energy. "Emily!" Alice screamed. "Don't worry. I've had worse." Her sister grimaced. Flower Cardian Lightshower(8/3000/3000) was the culprit, burning 1500 of her lifepoints just for drawing during her drawphase. "As I was saying; I know what I see and what my sister sees. Call him Lord Fortuno or whatever... _Uno_ is a friend. We have a better shot with him than with anyone else! l Pendulum summon two of my Samurai!" Emily trudged on and special summoned Superheavy Samurai Battleball(2/100/800) and Superheavy Samurai Soulclaw(2/500/500) from her hand, using the pendulumscales of General Jade and General Coral.

Emily's LP: 6500

"You need to learn some respect." Cardel flipped his other trap card. "I activate Fraud Freeze. While I control a Cardian synchro monster, I can reject all monsters special summoned from a players hand." Flower Cardian Lightshower raised his umbrella to the ceiling, summoning a violent storm that sent both the Samurais back into Emily's hand. "Ugh." She had nothing that could get rid of the trap or Lightshower, the synchro was immune to destruction and targeting effects. "Fine, I can still normal summon or set monsters." Emily placed one monster in face-down defense position. "Your turn."

"To continually make use of Lightshower's effects, I need to forfeit my drawphase." Cardel further explained as he skipped right to his standby phase. Cardian Moonflower already skipped this turns drawphase anyway. "But there are other ways that I can acquire cards. By banishing the spell, Flower Stacking, one Flower Cardian returns from the graveyard. My choice; Peony with Butterfly." He pulled the tuner Cardian from the graveyard. "And there are ways to summon them. I activate the spell, Flower Gathering. Four Flower Cardians with 100 attack and defense points will be special summoned from my deck." Four panels popped up from the deck, the Flower Cardians of Pine(1/100/100), Zebragrass(8/100/100), Willow(11/100/100) and Paulownia(12/100/100). "Four?" Flower Gathering did negate the effects of the monsters it summoned, but this was still a lot on the plate. "I replace Willow for Peony with Butterfly." The level 11 Cardian served as the tribute, for the special summon effect of the Butterfly tuner(6/1000/1000). "And here it begins. You had your chance to cease this nonsense. Nobody will protect you now..."

"You will remember that since Peony will draw one card now. If that card is a Cardian monster, It will be kept and your deck will be re-arranged!" The Butterfly Cardian drew a Cardian that showed a Valerifawn Mystical Beast standing under a maple tree. "Flower Cardian Maple with Deer! I can special summon it by tributing any Cardian." Poeny's effect scanned Emily's deck and moved two cards to the bottom, while putting the seemingly useless Superheavy Samurai Soul Claw on top. At the same time, Cardel tributed Flower Cardian Zebragrass to put up the Maple/Deer card(10/1000/1000). "It lets me draw a card as well." Cardel's deck gave him the evolved stage of Cardian Pine this time. "When I do, Maple with Deer destroys one spell or trap card on the field." Maple with Deer targeted and destroyed Emily's trap card; Damage Diet. "I tribute Cardian Pine for Cardian Pine with Crane." The card of the pines transformed, now the panel(1/2000/2000) showed a CraneCrane monster standing among the trees. "It too draws a card when summoned." Pine with Crane drew Flower Cardian Clover with Boar from Cardel's deck. "This monster can also use any Cardian as a tribute." Cardian Paulowniw was sacrificed, and the Cardian(7/1000/1000) of the boarsoldier took over its zone. "Clover with Boar draws as well. And if I draw a Cardian, one monster will be destroyed!" The minister took the next card from his deck.

And nothing happened. "..." He drew a trap card, Level Guard. "Looks like your chain ends here." Emily sighed a breath of relief, her monster was safe. "You smile now..." Cardel sent Level Guard into his graveyard. "When so many synchro combinations remain." He activated the effect of his tuner; Cardian Peony with Butterfly(2/1000/1000) reduced the level of all Cardians to two. "Synchro summon, Flower Cardian Boardefly!" The synchro materials were the Clover with Boar(2/1000/1000), Maple with Deer(2/1000/1000) and the tuner. "Another.." The endresult was a warrior(6/2000/2000) with the antlers of a deer, a butterfly-vambrace and a chestplate shaped like a tusked boar. "As long as Boardefly is on the field, all Cardians can inflict piercing damage. And each turn it can banish one Cardian from the graveyard to negate the effects of all cards in your graveyard until my next turn!" Boardefly banished Cardian Zebragrass. "Not if I use them first!" Emily wanted her graveyard free of traps, so she banished her destroyed Damage Diet to activate it. Now all effect damage was halved this turn. "Heh. Lightshower, attack her monster!" The four-card Cardian released another torrent of lightning upon Emily's set card. Bolts scattered across the room. "Ngh."

Emily's LP: 5500

"Heh yourself." The brightness of the attack faded, revealing the target himself. "What is this?" Cardel scowled as he saw a still living blue samurai(4/0/2000). "This is Superheavy Samurai Blue Brawler, a monster that can't be destroyed in battle. What did you expect?" Piercing attacks were not that dangerous, when her monsters defense was as high as the attackpower of Cardels remaining Cardians. "You continue to mock me." He kept attacking anyway. Flower Cardian Pine with Crane(2/2000/2000) rammed its flat body into the Blue Brawler, resulting in a damage-free impact that pushed both back. "When Pine with Crane battles, I can draw one card." Cardel claimed one more card from his deck. "And so this waste of time continues. End turn." As his turn ended, and Emily was forced to use her next drawphase, Lightshower inflicted another 1500 points of damage to the girl. "Your attitude fits for one who follows a fool like Uno. But impudence cannot save him, or the world."

Emily's LP: 4000

"You're wrong, Uno's not a fool! He's trying very hard to save everyone! Because he cares about everyone! Not just... not just the ones he can save!" Alice suddenly shouted. "That's right. Cassius, you should already know this. You met him, he cared about you too." Emily glared at the synchro duelist. For once Cassius could not find any words to utter. "You've been part of this Circle for too long. Maybe I should be fighting for you too!" Emily normal summoned the Superheavy Samurai Battleball from her hand. "That too is pointless. No effect can target my Cardians while I control Lightshower." Battleball could not use any of his Flower Cardians as synchro materials for her synchro samurai. "Like I don't know that." But she didn't need his monsters. "Superheavy Samurai Soulclaw can be equipped to one Superheavy on the field!" She gave her monster claw to the Blue Brawler(4/500/2500). "And I can also unequip Soulclaw, to summon it to my field!" The red-nailed claw(2/500/500) fell from the Brawlers arm and scuttled across the floor. "And then I can use the pendulum effect of Superheavy Samurai General Jade, to raise my Samurai's level by 1!" The green general targeted Battleball(3/100/800). "She's going to.." Cassius' eyes went wide with awe.

"Synchro summon!" The Battleball tuner synchronized with Soulclaw and Blue Brawler. "In defense mode, Superheavy Samurai Beast Kyubi!" The three Samurais came together as a gigantic centaur(9/1900/2500) in white armor. "Kyubi gains 900 defense point for each of your special summoned monsters! And he can of course attack with that defense!" Three tails of bursting flames erupted from the back of the Beast to give it(1900/5200) more power, one for each of Cardels Cardians. "Go, destroy Cardian Boardefly!" Kyubi blasted forward like a jetfighter, and raised his axe of fire. "Damn it." The death of Boardefly cost him greatly, Cardel lost 3200 lifepoints. "Thanks to General Coral, Kyubi can attack again!" The red general ordered the Beast back into battle. Kyubi(1900/4300) charged Flower Cardian Pine with Crane and obliterated the panel. "I set one trap card and end my turn!"

Cardel's LP: 300

"Emily.. why did you leave Lightshower alone?" Alice wondered, since Kyubi could have attacked that monster too. "So he can choose whether he still wants to keep skipping his draw phases or not." Emily grinned. "Go on, keep joking around. It will not change reality." Cardel begrudginly entered his drawphase so he could draw a spell from his deck. Now the effects of Flower Cardian Lightshower were sealed until his next drawphase. "You have no idea what powers you are dealing with. I activate the spell De-Synchro!" That spell on the other hand would prove very useful. "Your desynching?" De-Synchro did exactly what its name implied, it returned one synchro monster to the extra deck to revive all of its synchro materials. "To go one combo further, yes I will!" Lightshower split up into its components; the Flower Cardians Moonflower(6/2000/2000), Cherry Blossom with Curtain(3/2000/2000), Willow(11/100/100) and Zebragrass with Moon(8/2000/2000). With no more Cardian synchros on the field. Fraud Freeze selfdestructed.

"I activate the effect of Moonflower!" The synchro geisha drew from his deck, and found another Flower Cardian Paulownia. "As I have drawn a Flower Cardian, I may summon it!" He put down the Paulownian cardian(1/100/100) to his field. "And by returning one fallen Cardian to the deck, Cardian Willow can draw an extra card." The 11th level Cardian shuffled Cardian Willow with Calligrapher into the deck, so that Cardel could do what he did best; draw one card. "Now. This is the power I was referring too." Moonflower reactivated its level altering effect on all of his monsters. "By synchronizing five Cardians.." The synchro tuner(2/1000/1000), Willow(2/100/100), Paulownia(2/100/100), Zebragrass with Moon(2/2000/2000) and Cherry Blossom(2/2000/2000) were mashed together. "I can synchro summon Flower Cardian Lightflare!" This five-card combo created the heavenly swordsman of purple and gold; the Gokou-warrior(10/5000/0).

"That many?" Alice shuddered at the sight of it. "5000 attackpoints.." Even Adamant was astonished; this was the strongest synchro monster he ever layed eyes on. "Lightflare negates one spell or trap card each turn." Cardel moved to the battle phase. "And while it exists, no monster can use its effects against Cardians in a fight. Let me show you." Lightflare fired five beams of light from the halo on its back. The first hit weakened Superheavy Samurai Kyubi(1900/2500), negating its defense-boosting effects. "I can activate my effect too!" While she still had time, Emily discarded Superheavy Samurai Soulfire Suit from her hand. "My Samurai's attackpoints are reduced by 800, but it cant be destroyed this turn!" The Beast Samurai(1900/1700) had to give up even more defense, but at least it survived the five lights with its suit of fire. "So you managed to save your defender. But there is nothing you can do with it now." The minister let his turn end. "He's right, Emily. I know your deck, you cannot top Cardian Lightflare." Cassius exclaimed. Kyubi(1900/2700) regained some of its power when her turn began, but not nearly enough.

"Cassius. When we were kids, I told you that I would never quit.. no matter what. And that you shouldn't either. I guess only half of you learned that lesson." Emily would not give up, not now not ever. She got this far. "My turn!" She normal summoned the card her deck gave her, Superheavy Samurai Drum(1/300/300). "I synchro summon the Superheavy Samurai Warlord! Susanowo! In defense mode!" Drum and its one level tuned with the nine levels of Samurai Beast Kyubi. Together they created Emily's strongest synchro monster, the master of war Susanowo(10/2500/3800). "Since I have no spells or traps in my graveyard, Susanowo can take one of yours and set it on my field!" Emily extended her hand. "I will take your De-Synchro card!" Cardels disk spat out the spell. "You will what?" Emily caught De-Synchro and placed it on her field. "I will use it to return your synchro monster to the extra deck!" She flipped De-Synchro face-up. "I see. Since the synchro materials are not in her graveyard, nothing will be summoned back." Adamant was impressed. Sadly he knew nothing would come of this.

"You should remember your own lessons. Flower Cardian Lightflare negates your spell!" The five-card warrior drew his sword and sliced the De-synch spell to pieces. "Oh no.." Things looked worse than ever; Alice wanted to close her eyes. "Hey remember Alice.. I told you to never quit too. I am doing this for you too!" In the end, her sister was the one who made her want to be this strong. "Uh..yeah!" And if Emily was confident, Alice could be too. "That's what I like to hear!" Emily put on her biggest smile.. as she flipped her other face-down card. "Rise to Full Height! The defense points of my monster are doubled!" The trap caused Susanowo to stand up on both his feet, making him(2500/7600) tower over even the strongest of synchro warriors. "Incredible!" Cassius gasped. She found a way. "You would not dare!" Cardel gestured angrily at her. "I think I proved the opposite a long time ago, minister! Superheavy Samurai Susanowo, attack Flower Cardian Lightflare!" The warlord took his weapon and slammed it down upon Lightflare's head, cracking it and his body into pieces.

Cardel's LP: 0

"Ugh!" The explosion of his monster knocked the minister back against the prison forcefields. "Gwah!" The shock of the energy knocked him out, and he dropped to the ground. "A little rougher than I wanted it to be, but.." Emily bent over and pikcpocketed his keycard. "Now we can get out of here." She slid the card through the lock on Uno's cell. The barrier switched itself off. "I will get him." Adamant moved in and picked the duelist up, carrying him over his shoulder. "Is he..going to wake up?" Uno was still unconscious, this did not look like mere exhaustion to Alice. "I don't know. First we should get out of here. Alice, you still have that crystal, right? You can.."

 _{Did you believe.. I would not notice? That I did not see the crystal you possessed?}_ _Her_ voice chimed across the room. "Hgh...what?" It was not coming from any mouth or machine, it was heard directly inside everyone's head. "Lady Vesper!" Cassius hailed the name of the voice. _{I saw through your deception, Once I was within my sanctuary,_ _Emily. It appears I was forced to step in. I thought Cardel could take care of you and I could continue with the pendulum desynch undisturbed. But this is a minor delay. The process has already begun from the moment we got here. And the closer you are to me, the weaker your pendulum will get}_ With every uttered word, Emily's grip on her body loosened. "She's.. sending me back." She groaned and grabbed her head. "Emily! What can we do?!" Alice held her hand, as if it could keep her here. "I'm sorry. It's too late now." Emily could feel herself going, her own body calling for her. "Alice. I have to go. Don't worry about me, I have friends to protect me. Just save Uno and save Amelia.. you're her sister too. Tell dad what I said too. I will tell mom.. when I find her.. I.."

"Em?" Her sister stopped talking. "No!" She was gone, Emily's eyes closed. "!?" Then they snapped wide open, as the other personality returned. "Wh-wh-what?" And she was besides herself, mentally. "Where.. did I go? Who was she? What's happening?" Amelia retracted her hand. "She? You.. you heard her?" The only _one_ Amelia could be talking about was Emily. "I .. she was standing there, looking like me, talking to me and telling me that she wouldn't hurt me. Then she had that.. game.. that duel. I thought.. it was a dream." But it wasn't, that was clear now. "That was the synchronization, Amelia. It wasn't finished yet. Once it's done, you will.." Cassius tried to approach her. "No! I don't want it!" She backed up into a corner. "That's enough, Cassius. You have lost both her and Emily." Adamant grabbed the synchro duelist's shoulder. "You are the one who should give up, Adamant. Alice's pendulum will not take you to freedom." Cassius insisted. There were noises coming from the other side of the door, Vesper had informed the others..

"Then we will fight our way out." Adamant crouched down to pick up Cardels dueldisk and replaced the Cardian deck with his own. "Fight?" Amelia flinched. "But I can't.." Emily's dueldisk was still on her arm. She couldn't begin to understand how it was supposed to be used. "You do not have to. I.." Adamant's orders were overpowered by an unexpected outburst of alarms. "Ah? Do they have to do that too?" Alice covered her ears. "No. This is different." Cassius' stammered. "It's a perimeter breach! Someone found us! Who?" He yelled. "Who indeed." Curious, Adamant opened the door and peered outside. "I think there's your answer."

The cave was now a warfield, as a dozen templars flooded into the lair and targeted the Circle duelists. "The Union? How? They couldn't have followed us here!" Cassius could not believe it. This place had been kept a secret for years. "No.. Lady Vesper!" Cassius got up and ran head first into the brawl. "Cassius!" Adamant put down Uno again and turned to the Brandts. "Stay in here. Protect Uno and Amelia, Alice." She nodded and he pursued Cassius. Unfortunately he lost sight of the duelist in the madness. Instead he came across a Templar drone that almost identified him as a potential threat too. "stand down" But the voice of its new master made it back off. "Lady Anastasia?" This raid of templars was spearheaded by Lady Nisell herself. "you are here, then Uno will be here too." She seemed glad to see him. "Anastasia? How did you track us down?" He asked the lady. "That would be thanks to us!" More duelists entered the fray; Tory, Iria and Stonewell. "Our anonymous boss gave us a tip, that some unusual network activity was going on inside this mountain. We brought the news to the Nisells and she used Iria's pendulum crystal to teleport us to the entrance of the tunnel right away!" Tory explained. "Yes, as it turns out, their employer was not working for the Circle." Iria had concluded, though she did not know which options that left for this unknown benefactor. "That's not the first time someone received an anonymous tip. Hm, we will leave that for another time, then. But it is good that you are here. The Circle is planning to eliminate the power of all pendulum crystals."

"never." Anastasia shook her head. "i will not let them. nobody will leave this cave.. The circle will be the one that is eliminated."

(To be Continued in Redux 045: Follow the Lightning)

 **New Cards used by Emily Brandt  
** Superheavy Samurai Beast Kyubi

 **New Cards used by Cardel  
** Flower Cardian Maple with Deer  
Flower Cardian Pine with Crane  
Flower Cardian Boar with Clover

-  
Flower Cardian Boardefly  
Flower Cardian Lightflare

-  
Flower Gathering  
De-Synchro

-  
Fraud Freeze


	46. Follow the Lightning

**Redux 45: Follow** **the Lightning**

Chaotic was the setting inside the Circle's lair. Templars and duelists alike were fighting one on one, or all at a time. Alice and Amelia had nowhere to go, and the noise was getting closer. The worst outcome would involve them being found out. "Aha!" And that happened when Joris Bakker stumbled into the prison area. "Here you are!" He immediately activated his dueldisk. "What's going on?" Amelia flinched as her dueldisk switched itself on. "Wait! She doesn't know how.." He came in too sudden, Alice did not get the time to take the dueldisk from Amelia. So Amelia was the one forced into a duel. "You almost undid everything I.. we worked for. Prepare yourself, you traitor! I normal summon Buster Whelp of the Destruction Swordsman! Now I can add Destruction Sword Memories from my deck to my hand!" Bakkers first card was the six-legged dragon infant(1/400/300), whose effect searched Destruction Sword cards. "Huh?" Already that was too much for Amelia to keep up with. "Oh, so its the other Emily? Hmph, same difference.. my alternate dueled yours once. But I bet you don't remember that, do you?"

Amelia's LP: 8000 Bakker's LP: 8000

"This is going to be easier than I thought!" Bakker summoned the dragonslayer in blue armor(7/2600/2300) to his field while the Buster Whelp headed for the graveyard. "Is that.. how you tribute summon?" Amelia at least knew a few terms, just from passing. "Heh. I guess I can give you a sporting chance, Brandts. I activated the effect of the Whelp; tributing it to special summon Buster Blader the Destruction Swordmaster from my hand." Bakker placed two cards face-down in the spell/trap zone. "So, whats your move, Amelia?" His turn ended. "Ah." Amelia did not really know what she could do. There was so much noise around her, and people closing in. "This isn't fair, let me duel for her!" Alice pleaded, she could do nothing else in this madness. "Tough luck, there is no changing opponents in the middle of a duel. You're harboring an enemy, that is enough reason to put you down" Bakker stated.

"Really? Then maybe you'd prefer a more direct enemy?" Someone else replied.

Stonewell's LP: 8000

"Who?" Stonewell appeared behind him in the tunnel. Bakker was pincered between him and the Brandts now. "Eric! I mean.." Alice was glad to see him. "Hey! Took a while to cut through that mess, but I made it! Good to see these guys didn't hurt you." He started drawing his cards. "The other me couldn't show. You know how his mother gets. So let me get rid of this guy for you!" He activated the spell Painful Decision, with which he targeted two normal Igknight Cavalier monsters in his deck. One was sent to the graveyard and the other was added to his hand. "I set my pendulum scales!" Stonewell activated Igknight Cavalier on one side and an Igknight Gallant on the other. . "Amelia? Are there any of these half spell/half monster cards in your hand?" He asked her. She shook her head. "Well dont worry about it then. Lets just say, I am gonna kick some ass." Stonewell activated the effect of Igknight Cavalier, destroying it and the other pendulum Igknight to add a new Igknight from his deck to his hand. He was about to set two new scales, when...

"Will you now?" Bakker activated one of his traps. "How about you wait til I activate, Cradle of the Destruction Swordsman! I send one Destruction Swordsman card and one Buster Blader from my deck to the graveyard!" The trap discarded Dragon Buster Destruction Sword and a regular Buster Blader. "To special summon Buster Dragon!" A great black feathered dragon(8/1200/2800) flew out of a fiery red cradle in defense mode. "A synchro monster?" It was the matured form of the Buster Whelp. "All monsters you control become dragon type monsters now! And during my opponent's turn, Buster Dragon can equip one Destruction Sword to Buster Blader!" The dragon reached into the ground and dug up the blade of Dragon Buster. "When Dragon Buster Destruction Sword is equipped to one of my monsters, nothing can be summoned from the extra deck!" The Buster Blader and his new destroyer sword kept a firm seal on Stonewell's extra deck."Come again? Bah, why does everyone and their grandmother have a way to block pendulum summons?" Even if he set his scales now, he would have nothing to put on the field.

"Is this bad?" Amelia whimpered. "What? No. Its still two against one." Stonewell placed one monster down on his field and two trap cards. "Those are good odds. Just stick with me and Alice, and you will make it out okay." He passed the turn to the next player... who was not Amelia. "None of you will be okay." A fourth player stated. "Heh? Hey you don't get to do that too!" The next duelist in line was Jim the semi-bodyguard, who imitated Stonewells move by ambushing him from behind. "You kids think you can get away with everything. Tss, just get out of our way."

Jim's LP: 8000

"Foolish Burial!" He played a spell to bury a monster from his deck; Graydle Alligator. "I summon Graydle Slime Junior! It will special summon one Graydle monster from my graveyard, and one Graydle monster with the same level from my hand!" A baby-sized grey alien slime(2/0/2000) slithered across the cracks of the cave. It used its grey goo to reshape the body of the discarded Graydle Alligator(3/500/1500). And it also gave life to the pink Graydle Cobra(3/1000/1000) monster in Jims hand. "That's a tuner monster!" Alice noticed it right away. "Tuner?" That word also sounded familiar to Amelia, somehow. "Yes, by tuning this monster with a non-tuner. I can create a synchro monster whose level matches their combined levels. Allthough my partner chose to take the easier route." Jim scoffed. "I couldn't stand to hide my synchros anymore. I wouldn't have lost to Emily with Buster Dragon!" His partner retorted. "In any case, now I shall show you.. a true Synchro summon!" Graydle Slime Junior was one of Jims tuners, so he could synchronize it with his two Graydle nontuners and special summon the alligatorheaded and cobra-tailed Graydle Dragon(8/3000/2000). "Graydle Dragon will destroy one card for each of its synchro materials!" The dragons mouths spewed grey, pink and green slime at all three of Stonewells cards.

"You guys sound awfully entitled!" Stonewell flipped one of his traps before the slime reached it. "First-Aid Squad! It returns one normal monster from my graveyard to my hand!" The rescue trap took the Igknight Cavalier discarded via Painful Decision. "But your other cards.." Stonewells face-down Igknight Templar and continuous Igknight Burst trap were covered with multi-colored goop and melted away. "No problem. When Igknight Burst gets destroyed, I automatically get one Igknight back from my extra deck!" Eric put the second Igknight Cavalier back in his hands too. "And this isn't a proper tagteam duel; you can only attack me with your one monster!" Since both he and Jim stepped in late, they could not make use of their partners resources. "No. This is not like one of Martels sick little games. However.. you are aware of the penalties a player takes, when they intrude upon an ongoing duel, dont you?" It was a lesson his counterpart had learned a long time ago. "Your lifepoints are tied to hers!" He ordered Graydle Dragon to attack Stonewell directly. "Gah!" The damage he took, was transferred to Amelia as well. "Oh no.. what did I do?"

Stonewell/Amelia's LP: 5000

"It's not your fault, Amelia. Its just..." Alice was not sure how to explain this. "Its her turn." Jim cut her off after he placed a trap card down. During the endphase, Buster Dragon left the field, as a monster summoned by the Cradle could only live for two turns. "Ah.. but.." Now, based on what she saw, Amelia knew she had to draw a card. But her hands were shaking. "Amelia, if you need any help. I'm here." Alice grabbed her arm and calmed it down. "You.. are? I.. thanks" Amelia took one card from her deck and looked at it. "Oh There is so much... But wait, I have no monsters on my field, so.." Amelia summoned her first monster, a blue haired ice witch(3/1000/1000) riding a crystal broom. "I can special summon Wind Witch Ice Bell from my hand? And when I do that.." Her deck opened up. "I should be able to summon another Wind Witch from my deck." Ice Bell waved her wand and summoned a second Windwitch Ice Bell(3/1000/1000) from the deck. "When one of them is summoned, my opponent takes 500 points of damage?" Both witches redirected the cold winds towards Bakker, dropping hailstones on him. "Meh, chump damage."

Bakker/Jim's LP: 7000

"Alice.." Amelia showed Alice her hand. "Isn't this a tuner? Meaning this deck synchro summons too?" These windwitches were the cards Cassius prepared for Emily. "I think so...there's synchro monsters in your extra deck." These monsters were new to Alice as well. "I should still have a normal summon. So I can summon Wind Witch Snow Bell from my hand.." Amelia brought out a snow-white chiming bell(1/100/100) with angel wings. "So there's your tuner? Well it doesn't matter while Dragon Buster is equipped to Buster Blader!" Bakker bragged. "Oh? But you can use that card!" Alice pointed at a spell in Amelia's hand. "Oh. I get it." It had a simple effect with a simple result. "I use Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy your Dragon Buster sword." The classic MST spell targeted and destroyed the monster equipped to the Destruction Swordsman. "Damn." Now his opponent could synchro summon again.

"In the extra deck.." Amelia took one of her synchro cards. "This synchro monster has seven stars, so.." She performed the tuning process, combining The Ice Bell witches with Snow Bell. "I synchro summon Wind Witch Winter Bell." The witches transformed into a winged ice sorceress(7/2400/2000) with a spherical torso and a pointed abdomen. "So now she can target one Wind Witch in my graveyard and do damage equal to its level, times 200." Amelia targeted Wind Witch Ice Bell, inflicting an additional 600 points of damage to the Circle duelists. "You learned fast, hmph. Was that it?" Jim asked. "Oh. Yeah." Her monsters could not actually fight theirs. "I am sorry. Maybe I should have synchro summoned something else. But this was a windwitch too so.." She had to end the turn, though she still placed two trap cards down. "It'll be alright." Alice assured her.

Bakker/Jim's LP: 6400

"Keep telling her that." Bakker flipped his trap card at this point. "Destruction Sword Memories! I discard one Destruction Sword card, and special summon another Buster Blader from my deck!" His trap discarded a Destruction Sword Flash trap card, so that the original dragonslayer; Buster Blader(2600/2300) could appear from the extra deck. "I can discard a Destruction Sword card for Buster Whelp as well. Doing that will bring it back to my field!" This time Bakker discarded a monster, Robot Buster Destruction Sword. The Whelp then escaped the graveyard and joined the other Busters. "And finally, I can activate Destruction Sword Memories from my graveyard.. to fuse two of my monsters in the graveyard! By fusing a dragon with a Buster Blader, I summon Buster Blader the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman!" The Memory trap banished itself, the original Buster Blader and the first Buster Dragon. "You're still using fusions?" Jim was a little surprised to see the fusion warrior(8/2800/2500). "This deck doesnt work without one. It grew on me!"

"Besides... I can use both at the same time! I synchro summon another Buster Dragon, from my extra deck, in defense mode!" Buster Blader Destruction Swordsman synchronized with the Buster Whelp, who was a tuner as well. Now through a proper synchro summon, the great black dragon(8/1200/2800) appeared. "Buster Dragon will turn all your monsters into dragons again! The normal Buster Blade will get 500 attackpoints for each dragon on the field! And the fused Buster Blader will get 1000 attackpoints for each Dragon, dead or alive! He also changes all dragons to defense mode and inflicts piercing damage! That means he can damage you even if your monsters are defending!" Wind Witch Winter Bell not only powered up her opponent's swordman(3800/2500), she was forced to cower before it. Bakker, lastly, revealed a spell. "Let's finish this! I activate Karma of the Destruction Swordsman! By banishing three monsters with the same type from your graveyard, my Buster Blader will gain 500 attackpoints times three!" The souls of the wind spellcasters Amelia used to summon her synchro monster were absorbed into the blade of the Dragon Destroyer(5800/2500). "Thanks to your shared lifepoints. I can wipe you both out! Battle! Buster Blader, attack Winter Bell!" The fused Buster Destroyer raised his blade.

"Uhm.. during a battle, Wind Witch Winter Bell can summon one wind-attribute spellcaster from my hand." The Winter witch summoned Amelia's last card in defense mode, Risebell the young elf Summoner(2/800/800). "How cute!" He sent his piercing swordsman after the Summoner instead. "Oh, and I activate my trap." Amelia countered with Spiritual Wind Art -Miyabi. Miyabi could tribute her wind-attribute Winter Bell witch, to return one of his monsters to his hand. "Nice try. But with Destruction Sword Flash in my graveyard, I can block any effect that targets my Bladers!" Bakker boasted. "But, I am not targeting your Blader." The Spirit of the wind came after Buster Dragon. "No!" Bakkers synchro dragon was chased off the field by the spiritual winds, forced into the extra deck. "I am new, and a bit scared, but I am not dumb.. I saw the effect of the card you discarded." Amelia knew she would waste her trap on the warriors. But with Buster Dragon removed from the field, there were no longer any dragons to boost the fused Blader(4300/2500) and the regular Blader(2600/2300). "That wont save you either!" The fused Dragon Destroyer finally brought his sword down and skewered Risebell, inflicting a large sum of piercing damage. "Buster Blader, direct.."

Stonewell/Amelia's LP: 1500

"Jumping the gun a bit there!" Stonewell yelled. "What.. is that?" The regular Buster Blader's sword was intercepted by muscular first-aid medics(3/1200/400). "Them? They're the First Aid Squad. When a normal monster is destroyed, I can summon this trap as a trap monster in defense mode!" Stonewell helpfully explained. "A normal monster? But.." Bakker flinched. "He's talking about Risebell, Bakker. Even the girl saw that coming!" Jim roared. "What? That is why she.." Now he knew why she sacrificed Winter Bell for Miyabi, and not Risebell. "Gah!" Buster Blader trudged on regardless, cutting the Squad trapmonster down with his blade. "I will not lose to you! Next turn, next turn you're done!" Then Stonewells turn came and he entered his draw phase. "You should never say things like that out loud, you know." The card that was drawn put a smile on his face.

"I set my scales!" Igknight Templar and Igknight Cavalier were reactivated. "And I destroy them of course, to get Igknight Eagle. Or as you call him, Igknight Crusader!" Templar shot itself and the Cavalier knight down, so that Stonewell could retrieve a lowscale Igknight pendulum from his deck. "I set two more scales, Sky Dragoons of Draconia and the Igknight Eagle!" Crusader (scale 2) took one pendulum zone, the skydragon rider (scale 7) claimed the other. "Pendulum summon! My Igknights.. and Totem Five!" The extra deck released the Igknights Templar(4/1700/1300), Gallant(6/2100/2200) and the two Cavaliers(5/2400/1200). "The Totem?" And from Stonewells hand a different monster appeared, a totem(3/500/200) of five different animal heads. "When Totem Five is special summoned along with four other monsters, at the same time, all my opponents monsters will be destroyed!" Three of the totempieces flew forward and crashed into Graydle Dragon, Buster Blader and the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman. "And you take 500 points of damage for each monster!" The three targets exploded and covered Jim and Bakker in smoke and flames. "Graahh!"

Bakker/Jim's LP: 4900

"Rgh, think again!" Jim grabbed a monster from his graveyard. "When Graydle Dragon is destroyed, I can summon one water monster from the grave!" He special summoned Graydle Slime Junior back in defense mode. "When Graydle Slime Junior is destroyed in a battle, I can summon another Graydle from my deck!" The infant slime would be their last defense, but it was a good one. "Okay. Then I will.." Stonewell shrugged and activated Igknight Unite. "Special summon Igknight Stinger!" His spell sacrificed Igknight Templar to summon another Igknight, the Champion(8/2800/2300), from his deck. "This monster will return that monster to the bottom of your deck!" Igknight Champion had to return an Igknight, Gallant, to Stonewell's hand, to activate his effect. Then it fired a wave of napalm at Graydle Slime Jr. "I wont allow that either!" Yet, Jim revealed a counter trap. "Graydle Combat! When an effect targets my Graydle monster, the effect is negated and the activator destroyed!" The combat trap absorbed the napalm blast and returned it towards Igknight Champion. "Crap!"

Stonewell/Amelia's LP: 750

"Huh?" But unexpectedly, the napalm bounced back to Graydle Slime Junior and burned it down to nothing. "Uh. I used this, Solemn Judgment." Amelia had countered the counter trap with her own. "Should I have used it earlier?" Since Solemn Judgment took half their lifepoints away, she didnt want to use it too soon. "No. That's perfect!" Alice cried out. "Damn right it is." Stonewell smirked and looked back at the duelists flanking him. "Now where was I? Oh yeah.." He entered his battlephase. "Derringer, Stinger, direct attack!" The Cavalier Igknights rushed Jim, Igknight Champion bombarded Bakker. "NO!" Both their lifepoints were wiped out at the same time. "Was.. was that the end?" The two duelists dropped down. "It was Amelia. You won!" Alice congratulated her. "I did?" It was her very first duel, and she made it through. "..It was.." She was not sure if she hated it, or liked it. "Yeah, we did. You've got skill, Amelia." Stonewell definitely owed her one.

Bakker/Jim's LP: 0

"Whoah!" Stonewell flinched as two Templar drones suddenly flew into the tunnel and hit Bakker and Jim with bright beams. "Wait. No. Not aga.." The two duelists were transformed to cards on the spot. "Eesh." Stonewell couldn't help but wince, even if these guys probably deserved it. "Alice!" Following that event, the three duelists walked out into the cave where Adamant and the others were. "Alice, you were attacked? I was unable to stop them." He'd been too busy with his own opponents. "It's okay. Amelia actually did great!" Alice said with joy. "Well, I had help." Amelia muttered less joyfully. "Oh I see. He had to go and be heroic for another lady, didn't ya Eric?" Tory gave Stonewell a big grin. "Well I knew _you_ didn't need it, clearly." Stonewell looked around and saw nothing but Templar drones and carded duelists. "Did you get all of them?" There were no active duels to be seen. "All but two." Iria pointed at a cylindrical pillar at the back of the cave. "Cassius ran in that direction. I am guessing that's where he and Lady Vesper are holding up."

"Graahahah!" A scream filled the cave abruptly. "Uno!?" It was Uno who screamed, even as he was still asleep. "What? is he having a nightmare?" Stonewell asked. "no." Anastasia replied as she placed her hand on her chest. "the pendulums are in pain, it is spreading..."

(To be Continued in Redux 044: Woman for All Seasons)

 **New Cards used by Stonewell**  
Totem Five  
Igknight Crusader

-  
First Aid Squad

 **Cards used by Amelia Brandt**  
Wind Witch - Ice Bell  
Wind Witch - Snow Bell  
Risebell the Summoner

-  
Wind Witch - Winter Bell

-  
Mystical Space Typhoon

-  
Spiritual Wind Art - Miyabi  
Solemn Judgment

 **New Cards used by Joris Bakker**  
Dragon Buster Destruction Sword  
Buster Blader

-  
Buster Dragon

-  
Karma of the Destruction Swordsman

-  
Cradle of the Destruction Swordsman  
Destruction Sword Memories  
Destruction Sword Flash

 **New Cards used by Jim  
** Graydle Slime Jr.

-  
Graydle Combat


	47. Woman for All Seasons

**Redux 44: Woman for All Seasons**

Dom looked at this whole new world with fresh eyes. From the walls around the palace he could see the city, the tower and the people. He wanted to see more. "You don't have to follow me around all day you know. I am not running; this place is way too interesting." And no matter where he went, one of his disciples was there. "Sir, it is my job to stay with you." Even though Iria told him what happened to their master, Zach wanted to see him. "Fraid I don't remember ever saying that, sport." Dom breathed in and smiled. "I know you and the lady are saying that I am wealthier and smarter than I could ever imagine. But between you and me, I am not so sure I even want to be who I was. Your world sounds like too much trouble, while this one has got it all." He felt free, not burdened by anything. "But don't you want to know who did this to you and why they.." Zach tried a different approach. "Sir? Master!?" But Dom simply walked away. "Sorry again, champ. Still have so much to do. We'll talk later."

"Hey." On the way out, Dom passed Eric. "Was that..?" The kid approached the forlorn Zach. "Yes, that was master Dom." Zach replied somberly. "Thought so." Eric hadn't seen his face before, but he recognized his flashy clothes. "Also, are you feeling better? I don't want to sound like my mom here but.." Eric thought it would be best to keep an eye on Zach after what happened to the last of Martels waking puppets. "I feel fine, clearheaded and voice-free. I assume that is because was not under the fusion guild's influence for long." Zach guessed that helped his recovery a little. "I just wish the master could get better. He wont respond to me, but I have to keep trying. I cannot stand doing nothing while everyone around me is out there fighting." Zach put his hands together. "Iria told me about a plan to attack the Circle's base, but she wouldn't allow me to go with them." She didn't say whether or not she doubted Zach's skills in his condition, but the implications were there. "I know the feeling. The missus wont let me leave either." Eric sighed. The other Eric could go, why not him? "Maybe I can help you? It wouldn't be the first tim.. Hey!" Eric flinched. "What is it?"

"Don't know." Eric reached for the source of the pain in his coat. "Nothing good." It was August's crystal pendulum, now brimming with an intense white glare. "It did this before, but not this crazily. It must be the guilds! Whatever's happening, it's getting worse!"

...

"Uno. We're here! Please, let us help!" Alice desperately tried to wake Uno up from whatever agonizing nightmare he was having. "What is happening to him?" Nothing she did improved the situation, Uno kept screaming and convulsing. "she is using his pendulum's power, against his will. the pendulum is what.. if he loses it he could.." Anastasia was too horrified herself to get an explanation out, but the gist of it was clear. Vespers actions were putting his life in danger. "They went in there you said?" Iria took control of the Templars. "Target that wall!" The machines used various holographic attacks to break through the metal cylinder around Vespers chamber. Consecutive blasts took down the outer layer and revealed a hollow space inside.

"An elevator?" The space contained a lift platform that was now at the top of a carved out vertical shaft. Stonewell rushed inside. "Damn." He didn't see a way up without the lift. And the controls were locked. "Up instead of down this time? Hmph. The Templars can get there!" Iria commanded them to fly up. "Whoa!" But as soon as they did they ran into an electric current that fried their circuits and caused them to drop down like bricks; one nearly landing on top of Stonewell. "Great, she's got some kind of forcefield too!" Meanwhile Adamant found his dueldisk among the pile of carded duelists and activated it. "Then we will carve our own path."

 _{I will not tolerate this any longer. No.} T_ he telepathic voice of Vesper snuck inside the minds of all duelists. "What was that?" Amelia was naturally shocked out of her wits. _{My power has spread beyond the mountains, it has reached the cities. You lack the time to stop this. Soon it will cover the two earths entirely.}_ Her words were sharp and intrusive. "What is he.." Tory thought she was having a migraine. So did others. _{I am desynching you, paralyzing you so that you cannot interfere. You will have to bear it, the pain comes with this.}_ Vesper casually explained. "Desynch? But this is not.." Even Adamant was affected _{This is happening in all dimensions. I have synchronized my mind with my other body to strengthen my abilities, XYZ-leader. Even if you are not from this world, I can take your mind away from it. And so it will be, until I am done.}_ The pressure got worse, some couldn't even stand anymore. "Why.." Ultimately, their resistance crumbled. "Amelia!" One by one they froze, their consciousness put in stasis. "Uno!" And Uno, just kept on screaming.

...

"Gaahh!" A shot of pure pain to the chest made Uno rise from his uncomfortable resting place. "Hey! Whoa... what?" Said place was a cobble-stone path that led to a small cottage up ahead. _"Is this..where the guild took me?"_ This did not have the appearance of a useful hideout. He was in wide open space, surrounded by bushes and flowers that spread sweet scents. He was free to move at that. "Am I dreaming? I am dreaming arent I?" He slapped his own face. _"Tss.. Okay, maybe not. Stop using that as a test. Uno."_ Despite his throbbing cheek, he still could not really believe that this was really happening. There was only one possible answer. "Oh.. not again."

"You shouldn't be surprised anymore at this point." The door to the cottage opened up, and out came the shapely sister of the present, Veronica. "Welcome Uno. Long time no see. About half of a whole I would say." She smiled at him warmly. Veronica evidently felt more like being down to earth today, as she wore a simple plaid dress with long sleeves and had two flower clips in her hair to separate them into twin ponytails. "Veronica.." Uno was not in the mood for games right now, he didn't even bother to ask her why he was here. "Do you like this place? I know the answer, but I still like to hear you say it." She clearly did not mind as she was asking him questions instead. "I want to wake up, Veronica. Even if this is supposed to help me, I cannot stay." Uno knew better than to give these ladies demands, but he had to try. "Oh but this _is_ me helping you. This.." Veronica snapped her fingers, and conjured up a deck of cards. "Is how I duel." She drew five cards and let the rest of her deck float in mid-air. "A duel? Already?" Uno now noticed that he was holding cards in his hand too. He could not let them go. "Of course. Cloe and Margot aren't here. I have you all to myself. This is happening, now."

Uno's LP: 8000 Veronica's LP: 8000

"I suppose I cant talk you out of it... But I have the first turn?" Uno noticed she was waiting for him to make a move. "This time. Cloe likes to set the foundation for the past, she always goes first. But you know how the present is, it can't make up its mind. Sometimes I like to do it one way, and then I hate doing that the next minute." She prattled on. "I get it, I will.. I..." And he came to a shocking discovery. "Why are my cards.. so orange?" There were no pendulums in his hand, not even one. Cards that were _supposed_ to be pendulum monsters had their pendulum effect stripped away. They were all just effect monsters now. "Now is when I can tell you, that you cannot use your pendulum in this duel. Currently an outside force is disrupting their power flow. What you need to show me this duel, is if you can survive without the pendulum.. Christopher Fortuno Nisell." She smiled again. "Hmph. You knew my name all along I see." Uno placed one monster card face-down. It was all he could do with his current deck. "What 'current events' are you talking about?"

"Now that is a spoiler. Margot does not like spoilers.." Veronica took her turn and used it to set one monster and two traps down on her field. "I can only move, once others have moved." She passed control back to Uno again. "Are you talking about the game or.. oh nevermind." Uno was just glad that he could keep his monster on the field. "I sacrifice my set monster for a tribute summon!" He never thought he would say those words again. "And I normal summon Performapal King Bear!" The circus bear king(6/2200/1000) replaced the set card, and slammed its claws together in anticipation. "King Bear, attack her monster!" His Performapal rushed towards Veronica's card and stomped on it with one foot. "This is Aroma Jar." A jar(1/500/400) holding four scented candles flipped face-up. "If this card flips face-up, you cannot destroy it with battles while it stays face-up." King Bear's claws left no mark on the Jar. "Just that?" Uno placed two cards down in the spell/trap zone and let his turn end. "That and.. during each endphase, the Jars aromas restore 500 of my lifepoints." Veronica took a deep breath to inhale the scents and sighed it out. "Ahh.. lovely."

Veronica's LP: 8500

"Oh. I remember this now. This garden.. those cards.." Uno realized what he was up against. "The Aromages, yes." Veronica nodded as she activated a continuous trap. "Humid Winds. For every turn in which I have more lifepoints than you, I can pay one thousand of them to grab an Aroma card from my deck." A damp wind flew across the garden, taking one card from Veronica's deck and gently placing it in her hand. "It's Aromage Jasmine." She summoned Jasmine, a young white-haired witch(2/100/1900) in a jasmine-colored flower dress. "So this is about synchro monsters?" The Aromages' general gimmick involved raising lifepoints, but their strongest card was a Synchro monster. And back when he dueled Cloe, he faced her XYZ-cards so she could teach Uno how to control his XYZ-monsters. "It is the power of synchronization that is threatening your pendulum, so you can put it that way."

Veronica's LP: 7500

"Once per turn, when my lifepoints are lower than my opponents, Humid Winds can restore 500 of them." The winds flew in the opposite direction now, repleneshing her health slowly. "And when I gain lifepoints. Jasmine can draw one card." The Jasmine mage reached over to Veronica's deck and picked the top card. She handed it to her mistress. "Thank you. I will activate this spell now, Aroma Garden." A field spell covered the area, though nothing changed. "Familiar, is it not?" The Aroma Garden was the same garden that already colored their environment. Veronica was merely turning it into an active element of the duel. "Each turn the Garden will heal me by 500 points and add 500 attack and defense points to all my Aromages." Veronica plucked one flower from her garden and scattered its petals across the field, letting the flowers bring her life back over the 8000 treshold. Jasmine(600/2400) and the Aroma Jar(1000/900) also absorbed some the ambient warmth into their bodies. "Oh boy." More bad news; Aromages like Jasmine gained more effects when their owner held more life than the opponent.

Veronica's LP: 8500

"Now, Jasmine lets me normal summon one more Aromage per turn. I summon Aromage Cananga." Jasmine called another wizard from the cottage, the young chemist(3/1400/1000) in brown robes. He(1900/1500) too gained the powerboost from the pollen traveling through Aroma Garden. "While my lifepoints exceed yours, Cananga takes 500 points away from all your monsters." The Aromage tossed tossed a potion at Performapal King Bear to weaken the beast(1700/500). "They attack." Cananga grabbed his staff and charged the King of Bears. "But then I activate Performapal Raingoat from my hand! I discard it, to make sure one Performapal cannot die this turn!" A goat-shaped raincoat wrapped around the Performer Bear, blocking the attack. However Uno still took battle damage. "And then!" Another Performapal sprang out from the bushes, a grasshopper(4/0/700) with faces on both ends of its green body. "When I send a Performapal from my hand to the graveyard, I can special summon Performapal Teeter Totter Hopper from the graveyard, in defense mode!" This was the monster he sacrificed to summon King Bear.

Uno's LP: 7800

"Interesting." Veronica placed a trap card down and moved to her endphase. During this phase, Aroma Jar returned 500 more lifepoints. But Uno could activate one of his effects too. "During an endphase, Teeter Totter can be tributed, and one level 3 or lower Performapal can be put in my hand. I will use that effect on Performapal Raingoat!" The grasshopper jumped back into the ground, and kicked a card out of the grave. "I see. You are maintaining a perpetual loop. Not bad for a crippled deck." Veronica folded her arms and chuckled.

Veronica's LP: 9000

"Well, I got plenty more surprise guests lined up! Like Performapal Sword Fish!" His next monster was the sword-haired elvis fish(3/100/100). "He can steal attack and defense points away from all your monsters too, 600 of them. Because hey, fair is fair." Swordfish made it rain swords, one stabbed Jasmine(0/1800) and the other struck Cananga(1300/900). "And by tributing one non-pendulum Performapal, Performapal Sleight Hand Magician will appear!" The Swordfish left the stage, allowing the red stage magician(7/2000/1500) to special summon himself from Uno's hand. "Battle! Sleight Hand is gonna attack Cananga!" With his staff, Sleight Hand created a spell that would destroy the earthen magician. However.. "Now, I activate Waboku." Veronica's trap made that attack useless. "Waboku?!" The Performapals spell ran into a wall of holy energy. Waboku negated all battle damage, and made them indestructible for one turn. "Pretty attached to your lifepoints aren't you? Well, I better make sure you don't get more this turn." Uno moved to the second main phase. He discarded a card to activate Sleight Hand Magicians effect. "Sleight Hand Magician destroys one card; Aroma Jar!" The magician waved his hand across the ground and made the healing jar disappear. "Teeter Totter!" As another Performapal was discarded, Uno could revive the grasshopper in defense mode.

"You duel like always, in the moment. When really all you are thinking about is everything around you, behind you and in front of you." While it was still Uno's turn, Veronica reactivated Humid Winds, paying 1000 lifepoints to add an Aromage Rosemary monster to her hand. "Yet how far does this bring you?" This turn also ended the Garden boosts on Aromage Jasmine(0/1300) and Cananga(800/400).

Veronica's LP: 8000

"Far? I met my sister, and my brother! I'm back home!" Uno thought that was a lot of progress. "Yet you still do not know who you are. Even in your own palace, you are still just 'Uno'" She said as she switched Aromage Jasmine to defense mode. "That's not something I can fix! I lost those memories!" Not even a psychic like June could bring them back. "But why are they lost? And why are you here? There are two different answers that belong to the same category. If you cannot figure that out, you cannot win your pendulum back." Veronica traced her finger across her lips. "I summon Lonefire Blossom." A bomb-seed thistle flower(3/500/1400) grew out from between the cobbled stones. "Lonefire Blossom sacrifices itself to summon a plant from my deck." All Aromages were plant-monsters, meaning she could tribute the fire blossom for the strongest mage; Bergamot the redhaired and redcaped battlemage(6/2400/1800). "And with the second normal summon from Jasmine, I summon Aromage Rosemary." Another monster flew out of the garden house, the angelic sorceress in the blue flowerdress: Rosemary(4/1800/700). Then she reactivated Humid Wind's first effect to pay another set of thousand lifepoints. The third refreshing breeze from the continuous trap took an Aromaseraphy Angelica card from her deck.

Veronica's LP: 7000

"Now that my life is lower than yours, Humid Winds second effect recovers 500 lifepoints." As the clammy winds blew across the field again, the Aromages all activated their secondary effects. "When I gain lifepoints; Cananga returns one spell or trap, Bergamot gains 1000 attackpoints, Rosemary switches the position of one monster on the field. Jasmine, you already know." Jasmine drew one card for Veronica, Cananga made the grounds roots push Uno's left trap card back into his hand, Bergamot(3400/1800) wrapped himself up in a flaming aura, and Rosemary made Teeter Totter Hopper slip on a waterstream, forcing it up into attack position.

Veronica's LP: 7500

"And of course, I make use of my Aroma Garden too." The field spell's effect restored 500 lifepoints to the master of the garden. Now the Aromages had their continuous powers unsealed, with Veronica once more leading with lifepoints. "I activate the trap, Dried Winds." A continuous trap flipped. "Once a turn, when I gain lifepoints, I can destroy one card on the field." Dry and deadly hot winds blew towards Sleight Hand Magician. "No way!" Uno discarded his Performapal Raingoat to negate the destruction of the Performapal wizard. "Hmmm. Now we battle. Rosemary first.. her effect stops any monster effect that activates during a plant-monsters attack." Cananga(1300/900) was back to weakening Uno's monsters, which gave Rosemary the water aromage(2300/1200) an opening. She sprayed a surge of water at Performapal King Bear(1700/1000) like a high-pressure fountain and drowned the beast. "Then Cananga strikes Teeter Totter Hopper." The earthen mage threw a magic blast at the wide-open grasshopper. "Not all effects are stopped, Veronica! A special summoned Teeter Totter cannot be destroyed as a result of battle once per turn!" The performapal insect took a lot of damage, but one of its faces survived.

Veronica's LP: 8000 Uno's LP: 6000

"And I activate my spell card, Hippo Carnival!" Uno flipped his token generating quickplay spell, putting the three hippo dancers(1/0/0) on his field in defense mode. " _And_ I can banish Performapal Uni and another Performapal from my graveyard, to negate the next battle damage I take!" He activated Uni's effect while Veronica was in between attack declarations. A rather blonde playgirl appeared from the graveyard to block the damage. "You look ahead. You see that Bergamot allows all my plants to inflict piercing damage." The red Aromage hurled a fireball at the blue hippo token, burning it. Luckily Uni, a blonde playgirl performer, popped up from the graveyard to block the piercing damage. "But can you see a way out of this duel yet? And do you have an answer yet, as to why you are not who everyone wants you to be?" She gave him the same question again as she ended her turn. "I think so, now. You say it all belongs together.. it's all about the pendulum. So.. the pendulum must be what took my memories in the first place?"

"That is correct, to some extent. _A_ pendulum is the cause." The second sister looked pleased. "One question down, two to go."

(To be Continued in Redux 043: Lateral Rain never Hurt Anyone)

 **New Cards used by Uno Nisell**  
Performapal Teeter Totter Hopper  
Performapal Uni

 **Cards used by Veronica**  
Aroma Jar  
Aromage Jasmine  
Aromage Cananga  
Lonefire Blossom  
Aromage Rosemary  
Aromage Bergamot

-  
Aroma Garden

-  
Humid Winds  
Waboku  
Dried Winds


	48. Lateral Rain Never hurt Anyone

**Redux 43: Lateral Rain never Hurt Anyone**

Uno's LP: 6000 Veronica's LP: 8000

His memories gone, his body de-aged; all of that because of one crystal. "But how.. did the pendulum do this?" It made sense, pendulum crystals could bend time and space. So why shouldn't they control Uno's own time as well? Who knew what the limits of its powers were? "You have the answer, you just do not know where you're keeping it. It's not something I can tell you. As long as you do not learn it on your own, you stay as you are." His opponent who knew everything, hid behind her wall of lifepoints. "The same? I got a guy here who disagrees! Performapal Sleight Hand Magician destroys Aroma Garden!" Uno discarded one more card for the effect of the crystalline Magician(7/2000/1500), to finally rid the field of the healing Garden. "Shame." The field did not just get destroyed though, it burned. The grass, flowers and trees were set ablaze by Sleight Hand's magic. "But the power my monsters gained remain until my next turn." The Gardens boosts were a lingering bonus. "Yeah? I'll still attack Aromage Cananga!" Sleight Hand Magician attacked and destroyed the earth-aromage(1300/900).

Veronica's LP: 7300

Cananga's removal carried the added benefit of undoing his attackdrain effect on Uno's monsters like Sleight Hand(2500/2000). "Nothing lasts forever, Veronica." Uno placed his spell card down again and was about to end his turn, when Veronica discarded a card from her hand. "Aromaseraphy Angelica. I discard this to gain lifepoints equal to one Aromage in my graveyard." The discarded angel of Aromas targeted the slain Cananga with its 1400 attackpoints. An earthy scent traveled across the fiery field. "Yet any change you make.. can reverse." She regained her lost lifepoints and then some. And now that her lifepoints were raised, Aromage Jasmine(2/0/1300) drew one card for her. Also, the continuous trap Dried Winds would destroy one of Uno's cards. The target was Sleight Hand Magician(7/2500/2000). "Tsk, that doesn't mean I should stop trying!" Uno discarded Performapal Raingoat from his hand for the third time, and targeted the Magician. At least for this turn it would be save from destruction.

Veronica's LP: 8700

"No it doesn't. But it does mean you can not always try the same thing." She said as Performapal Teeter Totter(4/100/1200) came back to the field in defense mode, using Raingoats discard to special summon itself for the third time. "I could do a lot more, if I had my pendulum." Uno griped. This weakened deck was forcing him to repeat himself. The bad news too was that Uno could not tribute Teeter Totter during his endphase to recycle the Raingoat, it would have to avoid death a whole turn. "Is it worth it, Christopher Fortuno Nisell? Is this pain worth everything, the family; the friends, the pendulum?" Veronica drew her next card. "I know it is." Uno answered her decisively. "If so, then I move to the next level myself... As I control an Aroma monster, and my life exceeds yours, Aromaseraphy Angelica may summon herself from the cemetery." The monochromatic plant pixie(1/0/0) flew out of the burning garden, and circled Aromage Rosemary(4/1800/1300). Angelica was the tuner of the Aromage family, therefore... "Synchro summon." Rosemary the water mage tuned with the Aromaseraphy card, and she evolved into an angel too. "Aromaseraphy Rosemary, in offensive mode!"

Rosemary(5/2000/900) took to the sky, flying with her new golden pixie wings and wielding a staff covered in flowers. "Rosemary grants points to all my plants, five hundred a piece, as my life meter stands above yours." She twirled the staff around to release crystal flakes of pure light. The downpour doused the flames while strengthening the Aromages Bergamot(2900/2400) and Jasmine(500/1800). "I shall also summon Rose Paladin." A blond amazon(4/1800/200) in silver armor jumped out of the burned grass, wielding a huge spear. "And through the Humid Winds. Aromage Cananga will find me." Veronica's other continuous trap took 1000 lifepoints from her, to give her a copy of the earthen mage from her deck. "You know, you accuse me of being repetitive. But you're no slouch at it either." Uno said as his opponent activated Jasmine's effect again to extra-normal summon Aromage Cananga(3/1900/1400) in attack position. Sleight Hand(2000/1500) and Teeter Totter Hopper(0/700) powered down once again. "I am always changing, not that I have to. Cloe chases, Margot hides. I prefer to stand where I am." The fiery Aromage Bergamot prepared a fireball. "Now, let us fight."

Veronica's LP: 7700

"I'd like to play a game first!" And Uno flipped his set spell once Bergamot tossed the fireball to attack one of Uno's Hippo tokens(0/0). "Its called Roulette Spider!" A spider leaped out of Uno's hand and crawled around Bergamot's face. "Roulette?" A roulette wheel was attached around the mage's body, the wheel was divided into six sections. "You know everything about the present, but how is your futuresight? Roulette Spider rolls a six-sided die and re-arranges the target of your attack depending on the result!" Uno tossed a die to the ground, letting it spin along with the spiders wheel. "Bergamot can either halve my lifepoints, attack me directly, attack my monsters, your monsters, your lifepoints or itself!" The arrow on the wheel passed him, her, the Performapals. "Four!" The die froze on that result, causing the wheel to stop at the Aromages. "Bergamot will attack one of your monsters now, Aromage Cananga!" Still blinded by the spider, the fire mage unwittingly blew up the unfortunate earth mage with his fireblasts. "I'm catching up, Veronica!"

Veronica's LP: 6700

"Very droll." With two of her attacks now wasted, Veronica decided to alter her plans. "Hippo tokens can only redirect attacks on the turn they are summoned. Rosemary and Rose Paladin will attack Performapal Teeter Totter Hopper." The flying ice witch hovered down to hammer the insect(100/1200) with a hail of crystals. "The Hopper will negate his destruction!" Uno shouted. Since it was special summoned, Teeter Totter could not be destroyed by the first attack. Though, thanks to Bergamots piercing gift to his fellow plant monster, Uno took a decent chunk of damage as the ice shards pierced his lifepoints. "Only once. Rose Paladin finishes it." Fortunately Rose Paladin was a warrior, and not a plant. When its lance killed the grasshopper, no damage was transferred to Uno. "When Rose Paladin destroys one monster and sends it to the graveyard, I may summon one plant from my deck by tributing the Paladin." Rose Paladin spun back towards his master, bowed and vanished into the grave. "Cananga." Of course she brought out another earth-mage(3/1900/1400) in defense position. "I set three cards in my backrow, and I terminate this turn."

Uno's LP: 4200

"How does it feel, by the way? The attack of the synchro monster I mean." The sister inquired as she passed the turn to Uno. "Huh? I.." At first Uno didn't know what she was talking about. Soon however, the effect hit him. "A little.. headache-y. Uwah, what did you.." But the pain was not coming from her, he realized. "The synchro monsters? So this _is_ about me mastering my synchro monster!" He was right after all. "Synchro is just one of many powers that transcends time. Cloe can tell the story better, but I can at least say.. that .. the Circle is not the the first to harness the power of the mind. And synchronization can take many forms." As soon as Uno drew his card during his drawphase, the sister reactivated Humid Winds. The price of 1000 lifepoints paid towards another Aromaseraphy Angelica card, which she took from the deck. "I shall discard this, and target Aromage Rosemary, to cure lost points." The angelic pixie relit the blue candle of the watermage. Veronica absorbed the soothing aroma, adding 1800 lifepoints to her total. "Ugh." The effects of all her cards were triggered. Jasmine drew one card for her, and Dried Winds targeted and destroyed Performapal Sleight Hand Magician. "It's like this duel is still starting, isn't it?" She was nearly fully recharged, and Uno hardly controlled anything.

Veronica's LP: 7500

"Maybe. But I think we both know, your weakness is the unexpected!" Uno activated his last card. "Let's play the Illusion Balloon game! Since a Performapal was destroyed this turn, I can excavate five cards from my deck! If there is one Performapal among those five cards.." Five bubbles floated out of his deck, containing five cards each (Timebreaker Magician, Union Attack, Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer, Performapal Spike Eagle and Ultimate Offering). "Can you guess which one I choose?" He counted down with his fingers. "Bzzt! Time's up!" Uno snatched one card from the five balloons. The other cards popped and returned to his deck. "Pendulum Sorcerer!" He chose the sorcerer whose name was now a cruel reminder of what it no longer owned. The Performapal(4/1000/700) had no pendulum effect anymore. But it still could be used as a monster card. "When Pendulum Sorcerer is special summoned, he destroys two of my cards to place two Performapals from the deck in my hand!" The Sorcerer used his own pendant crystal to shatter the last two hippo tokens(1/0/0). "I take the Performapals Helprincess and Friendonkey!"

"I normal summon Friendonkey! He can special summon one level 4 or lower Performapal from my graveyard!" The first donkey(3/1100/100) appeared in all of his grinning glory. "Come out, Swordfish!" Friendonkey's effect special summoned the sunshade-bladefish(3/100/100) in attack position. "Remember him?" The summon also activated the effect of Swordfish who made it rain swords on the Aromages, reducing their attack and defensepoints by 600. (Bergamot: 2300/1800, Rosemary: 1900/400, Cananga: 1300/800, Jasmine: 0/1200) "And since I summoned a Performapal, Helprincess can bring herself in!" Uno special summoned the impish princess in purple(4/700/700) from his hand. "Every time a monster is special summoned to my field, Swordfish reactivates his effect. So.." Swordfish created another deluge of blades to decrease the attackpoints of all monsters on the opponents field. (Bergamot: 1700/1200, Rosemary: 1300/0, Cananga: 700/200, Jasmine: 0/600) "And now.. a trick I couldn't do the last time." Uno placed Helprincess on top of Pendulum Sorcerer. "I'll XYZ-summon Dark Rebellion XYZ-Dragon!" His two Performapals were perfect XYZ-materials for the dragon of darkness, it(4/2000/1500) arrived through clouds of black and red lightning. "And.. you know the drill." Another special summon meant another round of Swordfish swords for the Aromages. (Bergamot: 1100/600, Rosemary: 700/0, Cananga: 100/0, Jasmine: 0/600)

"Cloe is probably happy to see you use that XYZ-monster so well. Okay, now I want to play my game." Veronica interjected, with one of her traps. "This is Side Effects. You have a choice now, draw one, two or three cards. For each draw, this trap gives me 2000 lifepoints." She placed her hands on her waist and waited. "One to three? There's gotta be a catch. But.. in your case, three is the magic number. Ergo.." Uno took three cards from his deck. "I will go all in!" Side Effects noted it and rewarded Veronica with 6000 lifepoints. "And for my next trick!" Uno chained to her lifepoint gain with one of the cards he drew. "I will need Performapal Life Swordsman!" He special summoned a swordsman(1/0/0) in green coat, who wore a red feather crown. "Ooh. That one.. is new." Veronica made a surprised noise. "Yup! You're not my only teachers anymore. Thanks to my sister, I can create new cards from time to time! And this one will do well against you, since Life Swordsman summons himself when my opponent gains life. And his attackpoints will be the same as the increase in lifepoints!" Though the swordsman was very tiny, his(5500/0) sword grew to immense proportions.

Veronica's LP: 13500

Naturally with the special summon of another monster, Performapal Swordfish could do its thing again to weaken the Aromages. (Bergamot: 1500/600, Rosemary: 100/0, Cananga: 0/0, Jasmine: 0/0). Though when Veronica used Side Effects, Bergamot regained 1000 attackpoints with its own effect. By now Veronica's field looked more like a garden of swords than plants. "Yes, you know now how to create. But do you also know how you are doing it, Uno? That performapal is more than a card, it is an extension of your soul. And your soul is special indeed." Veronica placed her hand on the back of the Dried Winds card. "But what can be created can also be destroyed. I activate Dried Winds final effect. I reduce my lifepoints until they match yours, then I destroy monsters whose combined attackpoints are less than the amount of lifepoints I gave up." To match Uno's total of 4200, she had to forfeit 9300 lifepoints. "I destroy the Life Swordsman and the XYZ Dragon." The two targets possessed 8500 attackpoints together, thus their lives were at stake once the winds ignited into flames. "That's a little too hot, Veronica! Time to cool it down, with the winds from space!" Uno paid 1000 of his lifepoints to activate the quickplay spell Galaxy Cyclone. "My spell banishes Dried Winds!"

Uno's LP: 3200 Veronica's LP: 4200

Continuous traps could not resolve their effects, if they were destroyed during their activation. So even though Veronica surrendered a hefty sum of life, the Dry winds fizzled out when the galactic storm blew over them. "Space is rather hot too." The girl pointed out. "Details." Uno shrugged. He activated Dark Rebellion XYZ-Dragons effect; half of Bergamot(750/600)'s attackpoints were stolen by the black dragon(2750/100). "Well, you saw through one plan. How about another game?" Veronica flipped her second set card. "Again?" It was a trap called Graceful Tear. "Have this." She walked over to his side. "If I use Graceful Tear, I must give you one of my cards. However, I gain 2000 lifepoints." She gave Uno a Monster Reborn spell. "Additionally, I can now use the second effect of Aromaseraphy Rosemary." She had not used that effect back when she activated Angelica's healing effect or Side Effects. "Hey?!" Life Swordsman was hit by a spell from the synchro seraphim, and he(0/0) lost all the attackpoints stored in his sword. "Rosemary negates one monsters effect when I gain life."

Veronica's LP: 6200

"Monster Reborn? Why would you give me this card?" He could definitely take her defenses down with this, except she still possessed one unused face-down card. "Unless it's a trap?" Uno put the card aside. "Sorry, Veronica. I am going to win on my own terms." He focused on the last of his Side Effect draws. "I made myself another new monster, more of an promotion than a new castmember. I can summon him, just by sending Odd-Eyes Dragon from my deck to the graveyard, and tributing one light-type monster!" Life Swordsman was a light-elemental, it was the sacrifice along with the regular Odd-Eyes Dragon buried in Uno's deck. "I special summon Odd-Eyes Saber Dragon!" Odd-Eyes gained a new form, not from the extra deck but from the main deck. The red dragon(7/2300/1500) covered itself in silver armor, and sharp blades formed its wings, while spikes pierced the sides of its body. "Sorry, Veronica. This act must be getting tired, but when it works.. it works!" Performapal Swordfish used the 600-point drain for one final time (Bergamot: 900/0, Rosemary: 0/0, Cananga: 0/0, Jasmine: 0/0). "Odd-Eyes Saber Dragon attacks Aromage Cananga!" The Saber Dragon fired away with holy flames, burning the chemist Aromage to cinders.

Veronica's LP: 3900

Cananga was going to stay in the ground this time. His weakening aroma left the field and Uno's monsters shot back up to their full attackpoints. "When Odd-Eyes Saber Dragon destroys a monster, one other monster on the field can be destroyed! I destroy Aromage Jasmine!" Odd-Eyes raised its tail and slammed it down like a sword to destroy the jasmine mage. She screamed as she died. "Cards are more than cards, so I am saying sorry to yours too, Veronica. But.." The Performapals Swordfish(600/600) and Friendonkey(1600/600) attacked and destroyed the fire and light mages: Bergamot and Rosemary. ".. right now I have to think about the people who are still alive!" Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon(3250/2000) would make the last strike, against Veronica herself. "Direct attack!" Dark Rebellion took off and barreled down towards the second sister. "I believe I have proven that I can fight, without my pendulum!" Sparks flew everywhere upon impact. The duel was over.

Veronica's LP: 0

"Yes. A good performance for the still living." Veronica clapped her hands, dismissing all spirits and cards from the garden path. "Why not take a look now, Uno?" She said as she pointed a finger at his hand. "Huh? Oh!" The blue color of magic flowed over half of his cards again, they were turning back into pendulum monsters. His head did not feel so light anymore either. "But I still.." He touched his throat, there was no pendulum hanging around it. "Your resistance to desynchronization is growing, but you still do not physically have the pendulum." Veronica turned around and opened the door to her little cottage. "Wait? Where are we going now?" He followed, cautiously. "Your mind is much clearer now, there is room for more answers. You might even find them yourself." She led him inside the house. Uno was not all that surprised to find out that the inside was the same library he had seen three times before. "Did you have fun?" And lying on a desk in front of him was the sister of the past, Cloe. "And did you think of good questions this time?" She stared at him with those fiery eyes of hers. "...I did."

"I want the names of those who know what happened to Dom and me. And I want to know.. where I came from. I am beginning to see the reason why Millennium was made. And if I am right, then it was not Tempus who started it."

...

"Calm yourself, Cassius. A process like this takes time. This will be over within the hour." Vesper and Cassius held up at the top of the mountain, inside Vespers chamber at the end of the elevator shaft. "How can I be calm when we lost so many?" The duelist was pacing back and forth between the circular room. "We can restore them, we can change everything. We will be the only power of the world, at the end of this." Vesper sat in her chair, now hooked up to a dozen machines. In her control was Uno's pendulum crystal, embedded into a slot on her throne. "Things will never be the same after this, Emily will.. Alice will.." Cassius' thoughts were troubled, the telepathic woman could definitely tell. "The only one who can escape my power is Alice Brandt. You managed to reconcile the emotions of your other mind before, when you defeated Emily. She should pose no threat to us." It was unlikely that she would even get here, as the only entrance was sealed off. "But I cant, I keep hearing myself! It's like I'm falling apart."

Their little conference was cut short. "What on.." The entrance to the room was blown wide open. "Alice?" There were shapes coming through the smoke, monsters. "Impossible." Holograms could not cause this much damage, even if one were to use a hardlight dueldisk like Adamants. This was not a virtual construct. "You're not her.." It was a real spirit, a dark 'cosmic' spaceship. "You're.. Uno's sister." And Lady Anastasia was its master. "Circle." Her calm expression belied her true feelings. Her words were filled with hate. "You wont come any closer!" To defend his lady, Cassius activated his dueldisk. "Aaron!" But Alice was here too, she ran out of the smoke with her dueldisk already activated. "Alice.." He hesitated briefly. Her appearance was expected. "Why!? Why is Anastasia also unaffected, Vesper?" The Nisell girl's appearance was not. "There is only one explanation." Vesper rasped. "The same. Winnifred Anastasia Nisell is not from this timeline either."

(To be Continued in Redux 043: After One's Own Heart)

 **New Cards used by Fortuno Nisell  
** Performapal Life Swordsman  
Odd-Eyes Saber Dragon

-  
Roulette Spider

 **New Cards used by Veronica  
** Aromaseraphy Angelica  
Rose Paladin

Aromaseraphy Rosemary

-  
Side Effects?  
Graceful Tear


	49. After one's Own Heart

**Redux 42: After One's Own Heart**

Alice had a lot on her mind, while those around her did not even have a mind to use. They were paralyzed, thanks to Vesper. The only one thing she wanted was to stop her from hurting her friends and that determination stuck with her all the way to her chamber. "Not..from this world?" But there, when she came face to face with Vesper and Cassius, an unexpected truth struck back. Why was Anastasia also unaffected? Alice never thought to ask Uno's sister during all this madness. "Why.." Anastasia was the one who got her here, who summoned a monster strong enough to blast through the forcefield and to carry them to the top of the base. Alice did not understand. "I thought you said.. you were born here." What did this mean; she was like her? Was the Lady also from a time that no longer existed? "...i never said i was." The lady claimed. "But.. No.. you didn't say it. You didn't tell Uno."

"Hmph, you merely recorded what was created by a different future. It is no wonder that the Union could come up with such wonderful inventions." Vesper was pretty pleased with thus uncovered this secret. "Then the ones who caused the timelines to fracture..." Cassius felt an emotion closer to rage. "I thought it was.." He glared briefly at Alice, then he pointed at Lady Nisell. "It was them." Vesper rasped. "When my team broke the news of the other dimension to the Union, they would not believe our story. Of course the Nisell family suppressed all information of their sins; of the second world they created. But I kept believing, while you turned my own colleagues against me." Uno's strange powers, the fact that they possessed crystals that did not exist anywhere else on the planet; it all made sense now. "i did not know. i was not told that anyone found you." Anastasia countered. "But you do not deny it! You, Lord Marco and Lord Christopher Uno Nisell! You're the ones who traveled here from the future, and caused this entire crisis!"

"we made this world for us, made it so all could live a perfect life. you should not have crossed over.. you should not have taken Uno from us." The lady's tone got more severe as well. "Are you talking about that again? I already told you that we had nothing to do with that! We don't have the kind of power to make someone fifteen years younger!" Cassius was getting tired of these accusations. "not just then, you also attacked him with our templars, and with thieves. then you joined the other guild to overthrow him as a duelist. to break the rules that way... is a disservice to the spirits." That was perhaps what galled her the most. "We tried it the clean way, he would not cooperate. So we lured him out. But the templar attack was not our doing, Anastasia Nisell. We are not the only enemies your family has cultivated over the years. We do not know who was responsible then. But you do not, this world is struggling to keep itself together. Countries, armies, leaders, you only think you have it all under control. I know, my circle has people everywhere. That is not peace. You're like a child, using those crystals like toys to get what you want and to force everyone around to work with you."

"i would never.. these crystals are not my toys. and they are not yours. you do not understand what you are doing, what you can do to every unknowing soul on this world. I cannot let this continue." Anastasia ordered her holographic Kozmo machines to target the computers in the room. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. If I do not understand what I am doing, what about you?" Vesper raised her voice. "You are dealing with more than us, may I remind you. My body in the other dimension is performing the same operation on Uno's pendulum. Immense levels of energy are flowing between hers and this world." Vesper disconnected her own hoverchair from the machines, while leaving the crystal embedded in the throne. "Where will all that energy go? If you disrupt the process on one side?" Anastasia recoiled and stopped her monster. "That is correct thinking. It will have nowhere to go but back to the crystal, shattering it. What will happen to Lord Uno when it is not just depowered but destroyed? Not even I know that. Lady Winnifred Anastasia Nisell does, do you know?"

"... you will tell me then, how to put an end to this. or i will make you, both of you." If two Vespers were needed to continue this pendulum-desynch, then Vesper could not hide her mind. "a duel." She would have to accept any challengers. "So it be. You walk towards your own defeat." Vesper was not afraid to face her, primarily because she could just read her mind to overpower her strategies. "then where will we fight?" The lady asked. "A space where you can use that real monsters of yours without a care in my world." Vesper pushed a button on her chair and opened a door in the wall, there was a dueling room up ahead. "Cassius, guard the crystal." She glared at Alice. "This one might lash out." She and Anastasia moved to the new area. "Yes, ma'am." Cassius nodded and watched them until the door slammed down again. "Alice.." He turned to her. "There is nothing you can do that wont make things worse. Just.. wait it out. Everything will get better." He eyeballed dueldisk. "Aaron.. I won't." She did the exact opposite of what he obviously wanted and activated it. "Alice, why?" That brief look of anger in her eyes surprised Cassius. "I want to save everyone! And this is the only way I know how!"

Alice's LP: 8000 Cassius' LP: 8000

She activated a continuous spell, Ascending Soul. "I activate Nekroz of Brionac!" By discarding her warrior ritual monster, she could add a Nekroz Gungnir monster from her deck to her hand. "And Nekroz Mirror!" And that added monster would be summoned by her ritual spell. "I can tribute monsters from my hand, and from my graveyard if they are Nekroz monsters!" She banished Brionac and tributed the Level 1 Relinkuriboh monster in her hand. The mirror's ceremony exchanged their lives for the redhaired witch in ice dragon armor, Nekroz of Gungnir(7/2500/1700). "Because Relinkuriboh was tributed, I can draw one card. And when I complete a ritual, Ascending Soul returns one of the tributes to my hand!" The cybernetic kuriboh activated its draw effect before its soul was targeted by her continuous spell. Alice's hands took the one card from the deck and Relinkuriboh from the graveyard. "I will put one card down behind Gungnir.." The trap was set. Her turn was over. "Alice, just wait a second." She was going fast, even for his standards. "Why?" Because every second mattered, she wanted to get through Cassius as quickly as possible.

"Think about them! Your friends.. besides Eric and Emily, can you really trust any of them? Adamant was involved with the attack on the tournament and Dreamworld HQ. Iria and Zach worked for Dom who brought these cards into the world in the first place! Stonewell and Tory work for someone they dont even know! And Uno. he could be the worst of them all! The Nisells are the one who started all of this, they might be the ones who destroyed your world too!" Alice's face drew white with shock. "You.. heard about that?" She never told him her story. "Vesper saw it, in your mind. Alice, I am sorry that I thought you were the cause. You're a victim like all of us. We must stop the Nisells before they decided to go back in time again and abandon us all here! And I will duel you, if I have too!" Cassius started his turn, now that he seemed to have her attention. He summoned Speedroid H, the horsehead bamboo toy(4/1100/1100) on stilts. "This normal summoned Speedroid can special summon one tuner from my hand!" He special summoned the tuner, Speedroid Denden Daiko Duke(3/1000/1000). "I will synchro.."

"No!" Alice flipped her trap card, after the Duke speedroid touched the floor. "No?" It was Vanity's Emptyness, the permanent special summon negator. "No more. No more synchros, XYZs or fusions. None of your plans are good! No matter what, someone gets hurt! Cant you see that?" Alice allowed him to put his materials on the field, but he could not synchronize them now. "Alice. It's not possible to save everyone. The damage is already done." Cassius placed one of his trap cards and let his turn end. "But the pendulums might be able to fix it! Uno wanted to.. If he didn't have one.. If I.." Alice looked down, Anastasia's crystal rested on her dress. "I wouldn't have gotten my dad back if it wasn't for them. So.. I can't run away!" Alice drew her card. "Your answer is wrong! You're scared and you're letting that make your decisions." She summoned the Dance Princess of the Nekroz(4/1600/800). "You want to wait for the end. I cant, not again." The Dance Princess and Gungnir attacked the Speedroids Horsestilts and Denden Daiko Duke, destroying them both. "I wont!"

Cassius' LP: 6000

"I know how you feel, Alice.." Before her attack finished, he activated the trap Power Charge. "But I cant run away from this either!" Power Charge let him draw two cards since a 'roid' monster was attacked. When his turn came, he activated one of those new cards. "I will destroy your Emptyness! Mystical Space Typhoon!" Due to the quickplay typhoon, Alice's trap was taken from the field. "Now, by banishing Speedroid Horsestilts from my graveyard, I can send one Speedroid from my deck to the graveyard! I send Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!" Horsestilts's effect kicked the six-sided dice tuner out of the deck. "I will summon it back, with Speedroid Ohajikid!" He normal summoned the robotic gunslinger(3/1000/200), who opened a portal to the graveyard and let the Red-Eyed Dice(1/100/100) go free. "Ohajikid can summon any tuner from either graveyard, and immediately tune itself with that monster!" His two monsters combined their four levels, and created a clockwork jester robot(4/1300/1600). "Hi-Speedroid Puzzle! When this monster battles a special summoned monster, its attackpoints are doubled! It attacks Nekroz of Gungnir!" The Hispeedroid pulled out a hidden blade from its left hand and cut into ice sorceress. Nekroz of Gungnir shattered into splinters of ice.

Alice's LP: 7900

"Then Emily was right. You did give up." Alice sighed. "Better this than using the pendulum again and causing even more damage. The split world simply cannot be sustained anymore." Cassius set another trap card down and passed the turn to her. "I didn't mean that. But there has to be another way. I believe Uno. He's done so much already that I never thought anyone could do.. He would never give up. That is why I am choosing him!" Alice started her turn with another Nekroz discard. "I'll discard Nekroz of Clausolas!" That card took a new Nekroz spell from her deck, Nekroz Cycle. "And Nekroz of Unicore too!" Unicore recycled Nekroz monsters in the graveyard, so Clausolas could be returned to her hand. Though Clausolas' effect could not be used again this turn. "I'm going to summon Nekroz of Unicore!" Nekroz Cycle ritual summoned ritual monsters from the graveyard. So Alice could sacrifice Relinkuriboh and the level 3 Clausolas, for her four-starred caped Nekroz lancer(4/2300/1000). At the same time she drew one card through Relinkuriboh's effect, and recycled Relinkuriboh with Ascending Soul.

"Monsters summoned from the extra deck dont have powers while I control Unicore, so he can destroy your Synchro monster, Aaron!" She entered her battle phase. Unicore skewered the Puzzle speedroid(1300/1600) whose attackpower could not be multiplied. "I thought you would, Alice. When HiSpeedroid Puzzle is destroyed, one speedroid in the graveyard will return to me." As a result of her attack, Cassius took Speedroid Denden Daiko Duke back from his graveyard. "Ah, but.. I still.." She ordered the Dance Princess to hit him directly. Even as he lost more lifepoints, he kept smiling at her. "Stop it!" Alice used her second main phase to place a trap. "I..my turn's done." She wanted to be prepared for the worst. She knew just how strong Cassius could be from his duel with Silver. _"But why does he sounds so different now."_ Back then, he was not this kind. It was getting difficult to stay mad at him.

Cassius' LP: 3400

"Alice, I told your sister the same thing I'll tell you now. I am Cassius now. Aaron and me are one!" Cassius started his turn and flipped his trap card; Compulsory Evacuation Device. It would return one of her monsters to her hand. "?! You can't target my rituals!" Alice protested. The Dance Princess made all of her Nekroz rituals untargetable. "I know." His trap targeted the Princess instead, sending her back to where she came from. "Meanwhile, as I control no monsters, I can special summon Speedroid Terrortop from my hand!" He put down the spinning top snake(3/1200/600). Its effect gave Cassius a free Speedroid search. "Terrortop adds Speedroid Pachingo Kart to my hand, and I normal summon that one!" The next toy roid was the pachinko kart droid(4/1800/1000). "Pachingo Kart can destroy one card by discarding something from my hand! I destroy yours! Nekroz of Unicore!" Cassius discarded Speedroid Denden Daiko Duke. The kart launched one pachinko ball at Alice's monster, crushing Unicore with the silver orb. "Oh no..." Cassius synchro monsters had all the freedom in the world now.

"I can banish Speedroid Denden Daiko Duke, to special summon a speedroid from my graveyard." The duke's effect lit a spark and re-energized the Red-Eyed Dice. "And I will let Red-Eyed Dice change my other speedroid's level from three to five." The Red die raised the level of Terrortop(5/1200/600). "And.. I synchro summon Hi-Speedroid Chanbara!" Terrortop and Red-Eyed Dice united to form the red sword rider(5/2000/1000). "You're not.. summoning the dragon?" Alice asked, noticeably trembling. "You thought I would summon Clear Wing? Alice, there is no reason for you to be scared. I wont harm you, I never wanted too hurt anyone. It's just.. everyone fighting back that is forcing me too." He started his battle phase. This turn HiSpeedroid Chanbara would get two attacks. It made more sense to synchro summon something like this.

So why wouldn't Alice shake the feeling that something was wrong? "No! I am not going to be scared! I activate my trap! Urgent Ritual Art!" Either way she did not want to get hit by any direct attacks. "It will copy a ritual spell from my graveyard!" Urgent Ritual Art banished Nekroz Cycle to copy that spell's effect. She sacrificed Dance Princess of the Nekroz in her hand to re-summon Nekroz of Unicore from her graveyard, in attack position. "And when I sacrifice the Dance Princess, I can put one banished Nekroz card back in my hand!" The Princess retrieved Nekroz of Brionac from the banished pile, while Ascending Soul returned the tributed Dance Princess to her hand. "Alice..." Cassius terminated the battle phase. "You cannot keep this up. You're not like that." He placed three trap cards down and let his turn end. "I can! I have to!" She kept yelling, even though her voice was getting hoarse. "My turn!" She _was_ beginning to feel tired. Not just physically, but her anger was taking too much energy as well. "Nekroz of Unicore attacks Hispeedroid Chanbara!" She wanted it to end quickly.

"I know you don't stay angry for long.. I know _you_ Alice. Maybe not as long as others, but more than Eric and Uno. You're not really mad at me. You don't really want to win this!" Cassius activated another trap; Follow Wing. "No. No no no!" Follow Wing gave Hispeedroid Chanbara wings of golden energy and made it indestructible. Not just that, it would also let the synchro monster destroy anything that it was battling. "Unicore!" The attack was already declared, Nekroz of Unicore made a swing at the HiSpeedroid. She missed and Chanbara came up behind her, destroying her with its brilliant wings. "Think, Alice. If you stop me, you are going to let the other guilds win. It's us or them now! Ichirou, Martel, Celeste; they have the four dragon cards. Any minute now they can use that to awaken monsters that this world has never seen before. We need to complete the desynchronization, we need to put the spirits in their grave before it is too late!" His pleas were the same as before, yet it was harder now to push them aside. "Aaron.." He sounded so sincere, so much like the boy she knew four years ago.

"Yeah. Excuse me for interrupting."

"Huh?!" Alice and Cassius both flipped their heads to the side. There was an unexpected visitor; none other than Marie Celeste. "How can you.." She was projecting a hologram of herself through their computers. "You were the one!" Immediately the pieces fell together in Cassius' head. "Who.. who are you?" At the same time, this woman was a total stranger to Alice. "Just the one who has to clean up all the mess Phoebe left behind. Call me Celeste. And you're the one who snatched James Brandt from our shelter, weren't you?" The woman smirked briefly. "Celeste! What are you doing here? How long have you known about this place?" Cassius shouted at her to draw her attention back to him. "Oh you hid it well, don't feel bad about that. But you made the mistake of taking in Uno, dueldisk and all. Neheh." She let the information sink in. "The dueldisk?" Cassius shuddered. "Yes, while we were dueling him I took the time to insert a little program into his device. It let me track it wherever it went. Thanks to that, I am now part of your system."

"Then you were the one.. who told Tory and Stonewell to come here? You were their employer; the fusion guild was?" Alice got it now, albeit not completely. "Good guess. Really though, who else would recruit children to do their dirty work, these blockheads? No, that was my idea. I could go on for ages about why; its much easier to talk to people when you're not in the room with a telepath. But that's not what I came to do here." She turned to the computer. "Don't! If you damage it, you will destroy the pendulum anyway!" Cassius warned her. "I fail to see the problem there." She dipped her holographic hands into Vespers throne. "What are you doing?" Alice asked. "Oh, just shutting this place down, if you don't mind." Sparks began to fly off the machine, the walls, the floor. "Stop!" Cassius screamed. "Hmm. Nahh.. I don't want to. That's the thing I like the least about your Circle's plan, Cassius. You would cut _me_ off from all this world has to offer. Technology that allows me to go wherever I want and lets me send viral codes through my own projection." She pulled her hand out, the code was submitted, the throne powered down.

"See.. My problem is you backstabbing us even when we promised we would return your other body in due time. So.. I don't feel bad about doing this, it's just what you deserve..."

(To be Continued in Redux 041: Time for a Change of Pace)

 **New Cards used by Alice Brandt  
** Relinkuriboh

-  
Ascending Soul

 **New Cards used by Cassius  
** Speedroid Horsestilts

-  
HiSpeedroid Puzzle

-  
Mystical Space Typhoon


	50. Time for a Change of Pace

**Redux 41: Time for a Change of Pace**

"How can you do this?" The results of Marie Celeste's attack were clear; the fuses were blown and small fires erupted from the machines. "Oh it was easy, Alice Brandt. I studied their equipment at the castle and they have the exact same setup here. Just a little more sophisticated, but to me it might as well be a DOS-box." With knowledge like that, it was no small wonder that she knew which proverbial buttons to push. "Now I meant.. why did you?" Alice wondered if this meant the pendulums wouldnt be desynching anymore, if Uno was saved. Why would she want that? "To stop us. But it wont work! This can still be fixed!" Cassius defiantly shouted. "Whatever you say, Cassius."

Alice's LP: 7900 Cassius' LP: 3400

"I wasn't talking to you!" Cassius turned back to his field and flipped one of his traps. "I activate Re-Dyce-Cle! It resummons one speedroid tuner from the graveyard, with its effect negated!" He used that trap to special summon Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice(1/100/100). "Then it rolls one six-sided die to determine the tuners level. And if I do, Re-Dyce-cle can immediately synchronize the tuner with one monster I control, for a wind-type synchro monster!" Since Cassius controlled both HiSpeedroid Chanbara(5/2000/1000) and Speedroid Pachingo-Kart(4/1800/1000), he only needed to roll a two or three to summon Clear Wing. "Two!" And while he did get a desired result. "I synchro summon.. Stardust Charge Warrior!" The level-altered Red-Eye(2/100/100) was instead tuned with the lower leveled speedroid. Pachingo-Kart and the Dice synchronized into the jetwing dragon warior(6/2000/1300). Because Charge Warrior was synchro summoned, Cassius could draw one card. "Aaron.." Alice placed one trap card before she ended her turn.

"How many times are you going to make me say it? I am not just Aaron anymore.." He snapped at her. "I've buried some emotions.. Alice. There are memories of you that affect me, but there are also memories of a life without you." He took another card during his drawphase. "I was getting slower, you dull my reactions. So from now on, I will just focus on one me! And I will end this quickly so that I can return to lady Vesper! As long as she is maintaining the process in the other world, we can finish what we started!" He normal summoned a monster, Speedroid Double Yoyo(4/1400/1400). "Revive Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!" The sawblade yoyo toy used its electric cords to drag the tuner(1/100/100) out of the graveyard. And with its no-longer negated effect, Red-Eye turned Double Yoyo(1/1400/1400) into its equal in levels. "The synchro tuner?" Alice remembered this dangerous strategy. "Formula Synchron!" Cassius tuned Red-Eyed Dice with Double Yoyo to synchro summon the racecar robot; Formula Synchron(2/200/1500). Its summon-activated effect gave Cassius another chance to draw.

"It's over." He had drawn a spell; Hi-Speed Re-Level. "I use this spell on Chanbara, and banish Pachingo Kart!" Hi-Speed Re-Level banished one speedroid from the graveyard, so that it could transfer the level to the other target and add 500 attackpoints for each of its new level stars. The spell charged Chanbara(4/4000/1000) four times. "Battle! Chanbara attacks directly!" Chanbara was fast, it could strike twice in one turn. And as Alice had no monsters on her field, that one monster was enough to decide the whole duel. "It still does not feel right..." Even now, with all of her anger gone, Alice did not want to give up. "I will.. use Forbidden Apocrypha and make it affect synchro monsters! Because you control more than one of them, I can return them all to your deck!" Her trap flipped and opened a forbidden book. "Oh, how devious." An impressed Celeste snickered. Cassius controlled three synchro monsters. He would lose everything he was attacking with. "I was expecting something like that, Alice!" Cassius answered in an instant. "I activate Urgent Tuning, and perform my Accel Synchro Summon!"

His last trap, Urgent Tuning, let him perform a synchro summon during his own battle phase. "Huh?" Formula Synchron the tuner tuned with the synchros Stardust Charge Warrior and HiSpeedroid Chanbara. "All twelve levels?" The fusion duelist was as stunned as Alice, as three synchro monsters joined into one divine many-winged white dragon(12/4000/4000). "Stardust Sifr Divine Dragon!" It was a dragon even greater than his golden Chronicle Stardust. "What happens if there is only one.. oh!" Forbidden Apocrypha could not resolve its effect if there were less than two synchro monsters on the field. Her trap fell into the graveyard without ever doing anything. Follow Wing was also destroyed at this point, since it didnt have its original target to protect anymore. Speaking of that card, Hi-Speedroid Chanbara had its final effect triggered upon its journey to the graveyard. It let Cassius reclaim one of his banished Speedroids; Bamboo Horse. "Stardust Sifr! Attack my opponent directly!" The divine dragon fired one massive beam at Alice. "Aaah!" She was engulfed in heavenly light, and lost half her life in one shot.

Alice's LP: 3900

"Stardust Sifr? You know for a second there, I thought you were going to summon something bigger. But then I remembered that you wouldnt know about it." Celeste looked disappointed. "What on earth are you talking about now?" Cassius growled. "There are a lot more stories that 'the first duelist' never told anyone; tales of battles against gods with the future of the world at stake. Powerful spirits awoke in those duels to defeat the evil forces etcetera etcetera. You know how it goes. That dragon of yours was based on one of those stories; a reincarnatation of the legendary quasars and blazers. The actual cards, with all of their original powers, was buried in Doms digital vaults. Until you helped us break his decryption." That was the end of her speech. "Are you thanking me or gloating at me?" Cassius had no idea why she even bothered to tell him. "Neither. I just wanted to tell you what you could have had if you hadn't betrayed us." She shrugged. "You knew we would, that is why you didn't return my other body to us right away. But I was willing to risk that! Enough of you. Alice it's your turn."

"Ah. Okay.." Alice could not keep up with their talks, her strength was still fading. "I will.. wait.. no.. I cant." Her hand still held the Brionac of Nekroz card. But there was one big reason not to use it. "Yes. The Divine Dragon can negate one monster effect each turn, and destroys one of your cards when it does. Even if you try to destroy it or any of my other cards, it can negate the destruction of those cards! Alice, there is nothing your monsters can do against this. You heard what that woman said, she is not going to make things better! Let me save what I can!" Cassius appealed to her emotions again. "I.." Alice could only do one thing. "I activate One Day of Peace." She used a spell that let both her and Cassius draw one card. "Now, neither us can take damage until my next turn. I set a card in my spell/trap zone. And.. end my turn." This way she was save from his attacks, despite her leaving a field with no defenses.

"You are just stalling now, Alice. You're good, just like your sister. But you also don't know when to stop.." He activated a spell card. "Necroid Synchro! I banish two nontuners and one tuner from the graveyard to use them as synchro materials for a Stardust monster! Come, Stardust Spark Dragon!" To give himself even more advantages, he banished Formula Synchron, Speedroid Ohajikid and Speedroid Terrortop. Seeing these eight levels, the extra deck released his other ace, the brilliant signer dragon(8/2500/2000) of the stars. "Another weaker copy." Celeste scoffed. "Weak or not, it does not change the fact that there is no way I can lose this duel!" He placed a monster face-down and ended his turn with those words. Was he right? Should she surrender? It seemed so easy. She could just put her hand on her deck and then let her body take over. She could rest. "I tried.." Her deck felt so heavy, her hand did not want to pull the next card. "But.." She wanted to do more, not just for her friends.. for Aaron too.

"Hey hey, dont tell me the show is ending already!"

"Uno?!" Alice heard _him_ talk out of nowhere. That couldn't be good, she thought. If she was hearing voices, she really must have gotten delirious from exhaustion. "Fortuno Nisell!" Except, Cassius and Celeste were reacting to his words too. Were they having a shared hallucination? No, not that. "What's up!" It was Uno sitting in between the trio, on Vespers throne. "Uno? Am I... am I dreaming?" Alice could not believe it. "Nope. This is real and this is live!" Uno laughed as he casually plucked the crystal from the chair. "What!?... what is happening?" Celeste's visors and devices had no explanation for the scene taking place in front of her. "Sorry. I am not letting you ruin the show." Uno flicked his finger. "You did this? That shouldn't be possible!" She hissed. Somehow his return was disrupting her control of this facility. "Impossible? Nothing is impossible, MC!"

"No!" Cassius shouted. "Oh, you're going to disagree too?" Uno smirked at him. "Really, all I did was wake up and use Neters trick to get to my crystal. The pendulum and I.. and me? We're connected, so I cant ever lose track of it." Uno took out a new necklace, looped it through the crystal and hung it around his neck. "But you... Vesper is.. Your mind was desynched!" Cassius protested. "Was, yeah. I got better. I learned another trick. It's called having a clear mind. I am always synchronized with my body now, nothing can force me out. And its all thanks to the Sisters." He winked at Alice. "The sisters? You met them again?" She knew by now what he was talking about. "Huh? Sisters who?" Marie did not. And Cassius... "That nonsense again?" .. was still a nonbeliever. "What are you going to do now? Jump in to save Alice? I can take you both on!" He roared, getting increasingly frustrated. "What? No, I wouldn't think of it! I am just here to give her a little boost." He placed his hand on Alice's forehead. "Ehhh?" She flinched back. "Ooh.. what was that?" Suddenly she felt a lot more 'awake'. "I gave you some of my energy, so you can finish the duel. I know you can do it, Alice. I know the sisters helped you too."

"Oh.. Yeah, I forgot that too." She hadn't had a duel since her meeting with Veronica and Cloe. "It's my turn!" Maybe it was time for her to see the consequences of that. "I use my trap, Jar of Avarice! I have to return five cards from the graveyard to my deck!" Her greedy jar absorbed Vanity's Emptyness, Urgent Ritual Art, Forbidden Apocrypha, Nekroz of Clausolas and One Day of Peace. "Then I can draw one card!" A pulse ran through her veins as she took the next card from her deck. "!" It was a ritual monster, and it was not a Nekroz monster. "Also, I am going to activate Nekroz Mirror from my graveyard!" Since she controlled no monsters, the Mirror spell could banish itself and Nekroz Gungnir. "Now I can take a new Nekroz spell!" Her deck opened and she picked out Nekroz Cycle. "Stardust Sifr cannot negate continuous effects, can it?" She smiled when she played her spell. "Tch." Nekroz Cycle tributed the Dance Princess to re-ritual summon Nekroz of Unicore(4/2300/1600) from the graveyard. Unicore blocked the dragons powers, and Stardust Spark could not respond because Necroid Synchro negated the effects of the cards it summoned.

"I'll take back two cards now." Thanks to the effect of the tributed Dance Princess, the banished Nekroz of Gungnir returned. Thanks to the effect of Ascending Soul, she could put her tributed Princess back in her hand. "I summon Dance Princess again, and attack your two monsters!" The Dance Princess(4/1600/800) targeted the face-down Speedroid Denden Daiko Duke(3/1000/1000) with her ice magic and destroyed it. Nekroz of Unicore fired a spell as well, to break down Stardust Spark Dragon. "Alice.. what is this supposed to accomplish?" Cassius lost two of his monsters, but Stardust Sifr was still a big threat. "I just have to be sure you make the choice I like the most. When I summon my new monster.." She moved to the 2nd main phase. "I activate a ritual spell, Fairy's Blessing!" One more ritual took place and took the cards Nekroz of Gungnir and Relinkuriboh from Alice's hand as the sacrifices. thanks to Relinkuriboh, Alice could also draw one more card. But that was to be expected by now. "Eight levels?" What was unexpected was the monster Fairy's Blessing summoned. This spell could bring out any light-attribute ritual monster like Sauravis. "I summon Cyber Angel, Dakini!" Yet.. she summoned a four-armed blue-skinned deity(8/2700/2400).

"Cyber Angel?"" Celeste stammered. "Where did that come from?!" Celeste was yelling about it too. "That card is a class C lost asset! How did someone like you get a hold of it? Did the cardmaker give it to you?" She demanded an answer. "No. Three ladies did. They wanted me to keep telling their story." Alice said. "Nheh? Sisters?" The womans eye twitched. "Hmm, you know... I don't think you paid for these frontrow tickets, MC." Uno interjected. "You're gonna have to miss the rest of this performance" He raised his own dueldisk. "What? What are you doing? I coded into this network thanks to your own dueldisk.." If he wanted to remove her by shutting down his device, it was already too late. "Odd-Eyes." Instead he summoned a monster, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. "Attack!" The dragon released a blast at the woman. "Oh come on. I am a hologram, you can't.." And her words were smothered while her holographic form destabilized and broke apart. "There. Now its just us..."

"Yeah! Cassius, I wont lose now! When Dakini is summoned, you must send one monster on the field to the graveyard!" And there was only one monster to send now. "I have to do what?" The ritual summoned angel brandished two sabers with her upper arms. And Cassius' godly Stardust Sifr Dragon lost its head when both blades descended upon its neck. "My strongest.. dragon." There wasn't anything left now, while Alice controlled a full field. She placed one trap card down and ended her turn. "... during my endphase, Cyber Angel Dakini can put one ritual spell back in my hand. I will end my turn now then." Alice put Fairy's Blessing back in her hand. "Cassius isn't it time to stop this? Please? Uno is back, your plan wont work anymore." There was no reason to keep dueling. "Stop? It cannot stop.." Cassius drew his next card nonetheless and whispered to himself. "I cannot, and I cannot.. Guah!" He grabbed his head. "Aaron!?" She cried. Uno could not help but gasp as well. "He's .. how long has he been like this?"

"Since the duel started. Or before that. I don't know why." She said. Uno nodded. "I do. His synchronization is falling apart, he's worn two minds in one body for too long." This was the only body Cassius could work with, the Cassius from the other world had nowhere to go. "Cassius, I can help you." With his pendulum, the two could be desynched. "No! I refuse! I know your kind of help, but this synch will never break! It's the only future we have!" He drew his card. "I am Cassius, I am me!" He normal summoned the Speedroid Menko(4/100/2000). "I activate Stardust Sifr's final power!; resurrecting one Stardust monster from the grave!" The fallen Divine Dragon was exiled from the graveyard, while Stardust Spark Dragon(8/2500/2000) returned to his field. "And I am... I activate Denden Duke's effect too, to resummon Red-Eyed Dice!" Once again the lightning duke was banished from his grave, so that a tuner could live. Red-Eyed Dice came back to the field and used its levelchanging effect on Menko(6/100/2000). "Synchro summon! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" Menko and the Red die synchronized, and created the synchro counterpart(7/2500/2000) to Odd-Eyes. "The Circle will never fall!"

As if to undermine his statement, the entire cave began to rumble. "What was that?!" Uno apparently missed something. "Lady Vesper!" Cassius sensed the direction the shocks came from. "Uno, your sister.. she was here too. She's dueling Vesper." Alice quickly explained. "Ana?" She must have been causing those big noises. "No, if my lady is.." Cassius feared the worst. "Hang on, I will go and see whats going on. Alice, can you handle it from here?" He asked her. "I can!" She claimed. That was enough for him. "Okay!" He grabbed his crystal tightly and flashed out of the room.

...

Vesper's LP: 0

"Kgh." The mountains trembled as the last of Vespers lifepoints were thrown to the wind. Her mindreading ability never got a chance, not when her opponent could just activate a combo that overpowered everything she had in one turn. "From a member of the founding family, this is the power I would expect." The monster that defeated her was a massive planet-sized machine(10/8000/4000). It only took one shot and a Limiter Removal spell to double the monsters attackpower. "this is the power you were trying to seal. you did not have the right." Anastasia proclaimed as she stood in the shadow of her victory. "Wahoy!" That was the moment Uno arrived at, teleporting to the the middle of this crater. "Geez. you caused some damage here." Apparently Anastasia's last attack had caused all this smouldering wreckage. The attack came from the outside and tore a hole in the side of the mountain. Uno could see the sky, and a sphere that blocked out the sun. "uno!" His sister let out a cry of elation. "Nisell." Vesper breathed a grunt of revulsion. "Nice to see you both. You came all the way here for me, Ana? Thanks."

"Ana?" Anastasia gasped. "You remember?" He was using his nickname for her, he did do that before. "I remember everything, Ana. I remember what we really are. Why didn't you tell me, Ana? Why didn't you say the truth?" Uno remembered now, how his home was not his home. This world did not have the house he was born in, that place no longer existed. "i couldn't. I.." His sister knew, all this time. "But you didn't want to tell him, in front of his friends. You wanted him to remember it on his own, so he would become.. your brother again." And now Vesper knew, because she could read their minds. "You've finally turned back into the monster you once were, Fortuno. You have seen the way of your family. Keep everything hidden, keep it all to yourself." Even in defeat, the telepathic duelist did not tone down her disgust for these two. "No. I won't keep this. I am going to tell everyone. But.. I cannot do that until you've returned their minds." Uno walked up to her. "You will get nothing from me." Vesper spat. "I wanted to ask nicely, Vesper." He put up his crystal, which emitted a faint glow. "What? What is.." The light spread around the woman. "Desynchronization. You and your other self are going to spend the rest of your days, in one body."

"NO!"

(To be Continued in Redux 040: Will the Real Me please Stand Up?)

 **New Cards used by Alice Brandt  
** Cyber Angel Dakini

-  
One Day of Peace

-  
Forbidden Apocrypha

 **New Cards used by Cassius  
** Stardust Sifr Dragon

-  
Necroid Synchro

-  
Re-dyce-cle


	51. Will the Real Me, Please Stand Up?

**Redux 40: Will the real Me please stand up?**

Alice's LP: 3900 Cassius' LP: 3400

"I don't have time for this. Alice. are going to duel me still?" Cassius went and summoned both Stardust Spark Dragon(8/2500/2000) and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon(7/2500/2000) in the same turn. "I will. I meant what I said Aaron, Cassius... I don't know which one you are now, but I will save you both!" Alice felt like she was watching two duelists fight at once, with her and with themselves. "I am dueling as myself now, as myself! I.. Stardust will attack!" The dragon of light charged first, coming after Nekroz of Unicore(4/2300/1600). "Uh, I can stop my ritual monsters death by using Relinkuriboh's effect!" Hastily, Alice activated and banished the sacrificial Kuriboh, which negated the destruction of Nekroz of Unicore. Though she still took the damage. "Rgh. Then Clear Wing attacks.. Cyber Angel Dakini!" His follow-up attack was bizarre at first sight, because Dakini(8/2700/2000) was stronger than both of his synchro monsters. "I activate Stardust Sparks effect to save Clear Wing!" Stardust Spark was summoned from the graveyard, so its effects were not blocked by Unicore. The Star dragon placed a barrier around his wind-dragon ally, so that Clear Wing survived its suicidal charge into the Cyber Angel's spear.

Alice's LP: 3700 Cassius' LP:3200

"I activate Speedroid OMK Gum!" Suddenly, a mechanical box summoned itself, and transformed outwards into a white humanoid robot(1/0/800). "If I take damage during the battle phase, I can special summon this speedroid tuner from my hand. And I can use it for a synchro summon on the spot!" Cassius mashed OMK Gum together with Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. "I evolve my Synchro Dragon! Synchro Summon! Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!" The clear white dragon changed through a rain of light, becoming the brilliant crystal Synchro dragon(8/3000/2500). "Unicore negates its effects too, but when OMK Gum is used a synchro material I can discard the top card from my deck." Cassius drew the card and revealed it. "If it is a speedroid, my synchro summoned monster gets 1000 attackpoints!" He sent the drawn card, Speedroid Menko, to his graveyard. The dematerialized OMK Gum shot a gumblast of energy into the body to empower the Crystal dragon(4000/2500). "Attack Unicore!" With its OMK boost, Crystal Wing obliterated Nekroz of Unicore, killing it with a hail of diamond dust. "You wanted to save me, Alice? I am already saved! I dont need any legends or any pendulums!"

Alice's LP: 2200

"But you're not! You're in pain!" She yelled at him. "Why would we..I.. be? I have walked in this body for almost a week now! Everything was fine.." He yelled back. "Until?" Alice guessed which word he was going to say next. "Until you met Amelia. Until you saw Emily again. Until you had to duel me. Cassius, you're hurting yourself.. literally!" She understood more than he thought. The emotions from one were too much for the other. "You remember that one time you were bullied at school, and so Emily chased the bullies away for you. But you also remember a time where that didn't happen. You met me and Emily in one world only.." The two Aarons could not feel exactly the same no matter how in tune they were. And the more he was confronted with the discrepancy, the less their minds agreed. "Stop talking!" His head began to ache again. "Uno knew. This can't work; putting two of you in one head. You two are too different.. Amelia and Emily, Stonewell and Eric, Iria and Silver.. they're all too different."

"My turn." Alice activated a ritual spell. "Fairy's Blessing. I can tribute Brionac from my hand to ritual summon a Light ritual monster." Nekroz of Brionac's six stars were sacrificed for another member of the seven deities... "I choose Cyber Angel Benten!"... Benten the long blackhaired goddess(6/1800/1500) with the horned mask of gold. "Thanks to Ascending Soul I can take back one of the monsters I tributed for the ritual." Alice's spell returned Nekroz of Brionac. "And you know that I can discard Brionac to get a Nekroz card from my deck." She activated the effect of the Nekroz monster this time. "I know eveyrthing you want to do, Alice!" Cassius chained an effect without flinching. "But Crystal Wing can negate one monster's effect each turn!" The diamond-winged dragon sent its light into Alice's hand to burn Nekroz of Brionac away. "Then that monsters attackpoints are added to my dragon!" The Synchro Dragon(6300/2500) pulled the light back and drained Brionac's life energy away as well. "Then I'll do this."Alice activated her face-down trap card: Ghost of a Grudge. "Cassius, you have more than 8 cards in your graveyard.. so.. your monster loses all his attackpoints." The grudge-filled specters of Cassius' own graveyard rose. "Even if you do so, Crystal Wing will take the attackpoints of your monsters if they try to attack!"

"You're right. I cannot beat Crystal Wing. But I can take something else down.." The Ghost trap targeted Stardust Spark Dragon(0/2000) instead. "Stardust?" Cassius felt his heart skip a beat. "Cyber Angel Benten attacks Stardust Spark Dragon!" The wisdom goddess flew forwards and fired a holy arrow with her weapon. "Then I can just let my dragon die!" Cassius shouted. "I.. no wait!" But moments before the attack connected, he changed his mind. "Stardust activates his effect!" The star dragon covered himself in a round barrier and deflected the arrow. "Why did..I.. you? Because.. we would have taken 2000 points of damage." The text on the ritual card made it very clear, Benten inflicted damage equal to the defense of the monsters she defeated in battle. "But then.." He still lost lifepoints with that attack. "You.."

Cassius' LP: 1600

"Aaron. If I was just dueling you, I wouldn't have won." Alice only got this opportunity because 'Cassius' wanted to have Stardust Spark Dragon on his field. "I'm really sorry. This is it. Cyber Angel Dakini.. attacks" The four-armed goddess made a leap into the air and drove her lance into the body of Stardust Spark Dragon, killing the synchro monster and taking Cassius' life away with a single blow. "So.. that is it then." There was no power left in his voice, once he saw his monsters disappear before him. "You are stronger than.. you think, Alice." He smiled. "Aaron?" Was this the man she knew now?

Cassius' LP: 0

"No!" That attitude changed rapidly. "The Circle is more than this! On this side and the other!" Cassius was still resisting. "But we cannot get to them! Cassius, it's.. You cannot go there." Two minds argued, they were no longer one. But neither could change the outcome. "we will find the other members as well, through you or through your master." In reality they already lost everything. "Vesper!" Lord Uno and Lady Anastasia returned to the throne room, flanking a silent Vesper. "What have you done?" Cassius shouted. "Disconnected her from her other self, so she could not hide. One of you had the right idea, Cassius. This is the last act for your organization." If Vesper had been defeated, the duelists below were free from her powers. The circle was outnumbered. "Do not talk, Cassius." Even so, Vesper still issued a final order. "I wont have to." Cassius dropped his dueldisk. "Uno. Do the same to me.. what!?"

"Aaron?" The request he made was one he seemed to struggle with. "I cannot keep myself as one, anymore. You were right, Uno. This is not the answer. So desynch me! You do not know what you are doing! You'd go back to the card!" It was a suicidal request, Aaron did not have a body to return to. "At least I will be me!" But Aaron just could not stand his coexistence any longer. "Uno, are you going to.." It was up to him, Alice could not stop this. "If he wants it." Uno reached for his pendulum. "But, I promise that I will do what I can to save you. No matter where you end up.. Aaron." The crystal released its light. "Thank you." That was all Aaron needed to hear. He looked at Uno with a peaceful expression, and felt his mind fade away. "He's.." Cassius was left behind, staring wide-eyed into the distance. "That idiot." He sank to his knees. This was how it all ended. "... Now. Let's go see our friends."

...

"There you are! We didn't think you could walk again." Stonewell and the others were relieved to see the missing duelists return, as they descended with the elevator. "Sorry about that. I see you all got better too. Then everything is wrapped up here." There were a lot of 'people' cards on the floor here. "Ana, I do not want these people to go to the Monument. They deserve better." Uno did not want a repeat of the palace thief situation. "but they have done horrible things to you." Anastasia disagreed on what they 'deserved.' "Sure, but they thought they were doing it for a good cause. They weren't the ones who took my memories, I know who that is now. Besides... we've done far worse." He let the enforcers take the cards away, Cassius and Vesper went along and did not say a word. Soon it was just Uno and the people he wanted to see.

"You.. know? You have regained your memories, Uno? Or are we speaking to lord Fortuno now?" Adamant noticed Uno was saying things the old him couldn't possibly have known. "Don't worry, I am still me. I remember things, fragments, feelings. I dont really have the context, as if Fortuno is just some role I played in another show. But I've lived a long time... and it is a long story." He gave his sister a quick look. "I want to share it with everyone. If the templars and the enforcers can take care of the rest here, then it might be a good idea to return to the palace."

"Uhm.. can I go home first?" Amelia quietly piped up. "Oh. Of course! Ah, My apologies for everything you went through, Amelia." Uno wished he could have met her at a better time. "Uno. I can bring her." Alice was not against spending more time with her. "No, no teleporting if that is alright. I just want.. to rest." Her town was not that far from here, she could just be driven home with the same limousine from before. "I can take her, just to see if she makes it back safely." Stonewell offered. "What a gentleman." Tory laughed. "As if. I just don't care that much about all this time mumbo jumbo." He retorted. "Oh.. okay. That is fine with me.. Not sure if I can explain it to my dad, but its fine." Amelia put up a weary smile. "Let's not think about that until we get there. Uno, I will call you over the communicator when I want to be picked up. You got me?" Uno nodded. "I got ya. Are the others ready to go back?" He asked the duelists. "Don't ask. Just do it." Iria was getting impatient. "Right! One, two.."

...

"Three!" The teleport dropped everyone off inside the palace garden. "What... sir Dom?!" And he brought them right to Dom. "Jumping Jehosafats!" The cardmaker jumped up from the grass. "Am I dreaming? Or am I having a nightmare?! It could be either!" He rubbed his eyes. "Neither. This is really happening. Here, let me help you." Uno extended a hand towards him. "Huh? Wait, who are you? I don't usually say no to gifts but.. yow!" The second Dom touched Uno's finger, he recoiled. "What are you doing!" Iria cried out. "Oh, sorry. Should have given a warning. I wasn't exactly sure how it would happen." Uno laughed nervously. "How what would happen?" Tory asked. "Returning his memories. If Dom lost his memories the same way I did, then I wanted to share my cure with him." Now all they had to do was wait for the results. "Oh.." And they were coming in slowly. "My head... my.. head!" Dom touched every corner of his face with his hands. "My mask! Iria, where is my mask!" He panicked and more importantly, he called out for his disciple. "Sir.. You remember m.. You remember?"

"Of course? Why wouldn't I? You sound less pointy than usual.. Wait, don't tell me. It'll come to me.." Dom snapped his fingers. "Aha! Because of the amnesia! Right, that was.. freaky. Do I need to say sorry for that? I didn't half all my wits with me." The last day of his life suddenly wore a whole new layer, Dom owned memories of the duel with Iria and everything that came after it. "It is quite alright sir. I am.. happy, just to see you return to your true self." Iria's expression almost changed into one of joy. "This is incredible, Uno! How did you do it?" Alice wondered aloud. "Same thing I did to myself, I cleared his mind. His memories came back automatically, better than they did with me even." Uno figured it would work on him, since he didn't regress in age physically. "Dom. Do you also remember what happened after Vesper banished you?" Uno had a suspicion. "Just that some freaky flying machines arrested me on the spot as soon as I landed somewhere. That was it, they didn't give a reason." Through them he wound up inside the Monument as a card. "I see." Uno'd focus on that later. "Either way, we should tell Creffield." Iria declared. "And Eric!" Alice added. "Yes. Hold on." Uno clapped his hands and whisked everyone away abruptly.

"Eeeyaah!" He ended up inside the palace banquet hall, greeted by Mrs Stonewells screams. "Mom. Its okay! Its just Uno and the others!" Eric and Zach were present as well. "Dad!" So was James Brandt. "Alice!" The two ran into each others embrace. "I was so worried about you!" At the same time the second disciple heard the good news. "Sir? You have.." He did not need to hear, he could see in Doms eyes that his master recognized his face. "Yup, and its all thanks to the wonderboy over there!" Dom patted Uno on the back with an open hand. "You did that? We heard about the circle, but not this.." News of Vesper's defeat had reached the city by now. "Indeed.. how did we make it here." Adamant cleared his throat. "Twice now you have warped us to a person, not a place. How did you know where to find Dom, Eric and Zach?" This went against the way the pendulum usually transported the Nisells. "Like I told Cassius before, I accesses a power from another pendulum.. Neter's. He can go wherever he wants to be, just by thinking about something or someone. I borrowed his trick for a bit."

"Anyway. We're all here, parents included. Time to reveal the big secret. Ana, do you want to.. or should I?"

"i.. want to see what you can bring back." She would wait with baited breath. "Fair enough. I know what I am about to say is gonna give you a billion questions. Just let me finish the whole story first, okay?" They all looked ready. Alice and Eric were even sitting down for this. "...Okay. Well how to begin..With this.. I know who caused the timeline split, who Tempus is.. It's us.." The audience let out a mix of gasps and coughs. "Let me explain! Just had to get a good opener in there! See; Anastasia, Marco and me weren't born in this world or in the other. We are 'older' than that. Tempus.. or whatever his real name was, he took us from previous timelines and adopted us. He brought us with him every time he went to a new world, just like how December took January, June and August with him whenever he followed Tempus. That happened while were are still very young, so I guess I wouldn't remember it that well even if I hadn't lost my memories.

"Wait, wait.. so when did the original Tempus die then? Ahem, if you don't mind me asking." Eric realized that that this was a touchy but also important subject. "A lot of whiles ago. We've been doing this running from Decembe on our own.. for many timelines now. Tempus was already old, he taught us everything we needed to know to, to survive." Even if one traveled through time, ones own time could not be extended. "all of us..." Anastasia muttered in response. "he saved us, and we lost him." The moment sounded painfully recent through her words. "Then, you built this whole empire by yourselves." Adamant concluded. If Tempus was already dead, they were the only ones who could have created Millennium. "Yeah. We did.. I did. Like Tempus did before, in one of his previous worlds. Millennium was my idea, I believe. I dont remember what ultimately inspired me. Was it what Tempus wanted me to do with his legacy? Or was it what I wanted because I wanted to make as many people happy as possible? Ana, do you know?"

"it was you _and_ marco who wanted it, i was just happy to keep living. but.. we could not do it, until we lost our pursuers. and so, i too had an idea" The Lady walked up to a window and pressed her hand against the glass. " .. every time we were chased away, we had to erase so much that we built, that others built. i was tired of it. that is why.. " She ran her finger up the window. "do you remember how we first got here, uno?" She asked her brother. "Yeah, we went way back, before civilizations ever existed, further than we ever went. But that wouldn't get December off our backs." That man could chase them all the way to the big bang if he wanted too. "no, it wouldn't. so we immediately jumped forward to the start of the 21st century, skipping thousands of decades. but during that journey, i did something father told me never to do. i used the power of two pendulum crystals to cut in the timestream, to leave a path for our pursuers to follow while we took the other fork in the road. they arrived in one world, we in the other. at the same time, but not in the same place."

"You.. split the timelines? So all of what the Circle was talking about, was really your fault?" Iria cursed. "i.. i had no idea. i honestly was not told that.. i did not mean for this." The lady stammered, while averting her gaze from one person in particular; Alice. "i only wanted the world to go back to what it was before it all started, that is why we went back so far in time, before any of the changes we and father made previously.. but it wasn't enough. some things did not return even if we did nothing and let time go by. the spirits, the souls; their power was forever gone. so many stories, lost." Anastasia looked like she was about to break down. "Ana. I know that already, I am not mad at you. You wanted it to end, to stop seeing everything be destroyed. You weren't the one who asked for too much." He assured her, talking like the big brother she used to know. "What does that mean? Are you saying you were the one who went about erasing all those worlds?" Tory bluntly chimed in. She was doing a remarkably good job of keeping up so far.

"Not just me. Ana.. Where is Marco now?"

(To be Continued in Redux 039: Not as Black as Painted)

 **New Cards used by Alice Brandt  
** Cyber Angel Benten

-  
Ghost of a Grudge

 **New Cards used by Cassius  
** Speedroid OMK Gum


	52. Not as Black as Painted

**Redux 39: Not as Black as Painted**

"Christopher! I was Notified of your Rescue, but I had no Idea you were Back at the Palace!" Marco was ecstatic when Uno walked into the throne room. "And you brought your Friends?" He sounded less positive about the duelists who followed him. "It doesn't seem like we are interrupting anything, Lord Nisell." Adamant, Alice, Eric, Tory, Iria, Zach and Dom were all here; staring at the lord with mixed expressions. "Sister?" Anastasia was there too. And Marco could tell something was going on with the way she looked. "I was more than rescued, Marco. I was cured. I remember myself again." Uno revealed. "Oh? Than that is certainly More than Wonderful!" Though Marco reacted with excitement, there was a subtle shudder in his words. "Marco, you don't have to pretend. I also remember what happened to me.. " Uno made clear that he was not here to spread 'good' news. "What are you saying, Christopher?" The lord said coyly. "That it was _you_ , Marco."

"Me? What on Earth gave you that Idea? Was it the Circle?" Marco laughed it off. "Christopher, you are Confused. UYou have Been through a lot. Please, take some Time to Rest first. Then we can Talk about.." He waved at his guards to make them close in on the gang. "No. We're not done. I didn't come here to leave without an answer." Uno raised his own hand to move the guards back to their positions. He was a Lord too after all. "I deserve one, our sister deserves one, my friends deserve one." He then activated his dueldisk. "Brother, I do not Know what has gotten Into you. But I do not Like it. Sister, tell him. You know I couldn't have Done this." Rather than rising to the provocations, his brother tried to appeal to reason. "i am not sure anymore, marco." But even his sister resisted him now. "Is the leader of the Union too afraid to answer?" Iria inquired. "I would Hold your Tongue, lady Silver. This is a Family Matter." Marco grunted as he finally activated his disk and silently ordered the guards out of the room. "But why a duel, Christopher?"

Marco's LP: 8000 Uno's LP: 8000

"Because my first memory is of me waking up with dueldisks in my possession; _two_ of them. I remember why now.. Before I was sent to the other world, I dueled someone and lost." Uno took the first turn. He normal summoned the Performapal Skullcrobat Joker(4/1800/100) and used its effect to add a Performapal from his deck to his hand; Performapal Fireflux. "To hide his crime, _he_ banished me along with the two dueldisks that performed the duel. The evidence was tossed into a second timeline. And I believe the man who did all that is dueling me again right here." Uno placed Performapal Fireflux (scale 5) in the left pendulum zone and two trap cards behind the Skullcrobat. "Is that the Nature of your Challenge, to discover Whether or not I fit the Duelist from your fragmented Memories? Christopher, that is a Fools Game." Marco scoffed. "Then you should have nothing to hide." Uno passed the turn to his own brother.

"So be it then." Marco started by activating the fusing spell Terminus of the Burning Abyss. "Go forth, Dante the Pilgrim of the Burning Abyss!" He fused three Burning Abyss Malebranchi in his hand; Cir, Cagna and Farfa, to create the next world's holy pilgrim Dante(9/2800/2500). "My Malebranchi, sent to my graveyard, activate their effects!" Cagna the Malebranche moved a Burning Abyss spell or trap card from the deck to the graveyard. Farfa banished one monster on the field for one turn, Cir special summoned one Burning Abyss demon from the graveyard. "Send Terminus of the Burning Abyss, remove Performapal Skullcrobat Joker, revive Cagna of the Burning Abyss!" Marco selected his three targets. Uno's field lost the Joker, while Marco's field gained Cagna the hound demon(3/1500/300). "Brother, we have Dueled in the past. That is as far as The truth goes! You have Not changed, your Tricks are still Transparent!" Performapal Fireflux's pendulum effect could stop battle phases by tributing Performapals. With Uno's one performer gone, Fireflux was effectively harmless. "Cagna, attack Christopher!"

"Transparent?" Uno activated a trap; Performapal Pinch Helper. "Sure about that?" Because Marco had declared a direct strike, his continuous trap would special summon a Performapal from his deck and negate Cagna's attack. "Go, Silver Claw!" Uno special summoned the silver wolf(4/1800/700) in defense mode, with its effects negated. "Dante!" Marco recalled Cagna and attacked with his fusion monster instead. "I sacrifice Silver Claw, to activate the card in my pendulum zone!" The fireflux bug blasted Silver Claw to pieces and absorbed its remaining energy to light up its tail like a flare. The bright lights warded off Dante, cancelling out Marco's battle phase. "I've picked up a lot of new tricks while I was gone, Marco!" Uno grinned. "So you Have... I activate Dante's power." Each turn Dante could discard one card from his hand to draw a new card. He discarded the Burning Abyss Malebranche, Scarm. "At the End of a turn In which Scarm was sent to My graveyard, a new Burning Abyss is added to My hand." Marco placed one trap and added Graff of the Burning Abyss to his hand during his endphase.

"Hey Uno. Is it a good idea to do this alone? I mean if he _is_ the guy.. He did beat you before." Eric wanted to point out the obvious. "And he stopped August like it was nothing." Marco was probably one of the strongest duelists Alice ever saw. "But I am sure you can do it!" Uno had to be stronger now. "It's not about that, it's about repeating the past. Even so.. I know Marco." As Uno's turn started, Skullcrobat Joker was returned to the field. "He wont go down without a fight!" Uno placed the Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer (scale 2) in the right pendulum zone. "Pendulum summon!" The Sorcerer pairing with the Fireflux led to the pendulum summon of two pendulum wolves; Performapal Silver Claw from the extra deck and a Performapal Gold Fang(4/1800/700) from the hand. "A summoned Gold Fang adds 200 attackpoints to all my Performapals. Pendulum Sorcerer also puts another 1000 attackpoints on them when his scale is used for a performapal pendulum summon!" Between these two effects Uno's army (Skullcrobat Joker: 3100 atk, Silver Claw/Gold Fang: 3000 atk) grew a lot stronger than anything on the other side. "Silver Claw attacks!"

"Dante!" Marco reactivated the effect of the Pilgrim. Dante discarded Graff the Burning Abyss Malebranche to draw a new card. "When Graff is sent to My graveyard, one Burning Abyss demon is Released from my deck! Come, Scarm!" Marco special summoned a second long-nailed Scarm demon(3/800/2000) in defense mode. "Okay, but my Silver Claw adds 300 attackpoints to all my Performapals when he attacks!" The silver wolf(3300/700) strengthened Uno's troupe even further, and with its glowing claws it tore up Cagna of the Burning Abyss. "Gold Fang will attack your other monster!" The gold-furred wolf(4/3300/700) tore Scarm to chunks of grey flesh with its fangs. "And the coup de gracé!" The Acrobat Joker threw his tophat towards Dante like a throwing disc. "You believe you can Get this far with Just your Performapals; Christopher?" Marco activated another effect, with his trap card. "Descent of the Sacred Serpent! My fused monster shall not Face Death this turn!" A serpent of light rose up from the floor to knock back Joker's hat; only a few scraps of battle damage reached Marco.

Marco's LP: 5600

 _Descent of the Sacred Serpent, Normal Trap  
_ _If there are 2 or more monsters that were summoned from the extra deck on the field, target 1 of them.  
_ _This turn, that monster cannot be destroyed and is unaffected by the effects of other monsters summoned from the extra deck._

"That didn't have much of an oomph, did it?" Tory remarked. With Dante still alive, Cagna's effect sending another Burning Abyss spell (Good & Evil in the Burning Abyss) to the graveyard, and Scarm waiting to activate its effect during Uno's endphase; a volatile turn was ahead of Uno. "Yeah. Maybe he has a point." Uno moved to his second main phase. "Maybe I should get an upgrade!" Skullcrobat Joker and Gold Fang were placed on top of each other. "XYZ-summon! Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon!" The two turned to XYZ-materials for the dragon(4/2500/2000) of the dark rebellion. "Ah Yes, our Sister told us you were still Using the Dragons of the forgotten Apocalypse." Marco could not help but marvel slightly at the sight of it. "Oh I am sure you already knew I was using these. I already owned Odd-Eyes before." Uno activated his dragons effect by detaching both Performapals. "An XYZ-monster for a fusion monster! Dark Rebellion takes your Pilgrims attackpoints!" Half of Dante(1400/2500)'s power was permanently stolen by the XYZ-Dragon(3900/2000). "That was my turn!"

Before his turn began, Scarm's effect was resolved and a second Cir Malebranche ended up in Marco's hand. "Are you still Not satisfied then, Christopher?" Marco shook his head. "I suppose nothing but Sheer Force, will convince you to Let this Go!" He banished one spell from his graveyard. "When I activate Good and Evil in the Burning Abyss from My graveyard, I can Discard a Burning Abyss monster to add another Burning Abyss spell to my hand!" Marco discarded his second Cir of the Burning Abyss, and claimed a second Good & Evil spell. "Cir, revive Graff!" The sent Cir demon's effect special summoned the bulldog demon(3/1000/1500) from Marco's graveyard. "As I control No spells or Traps, I may call out the Malebranche Rubic!" Next the red-faced terror(3/100/2100) special summoned itself with its own effect. "A tuner monster?" Dom gasped. "Yes sir, this deck has got all types of extra deck summons." Iria explained it to her master. "Where did he get these cards from to begin with?" Zach was certain Dreamworld did not print anything related to the Burning Abyss. "Where indeed." Uno flashed a knowing smirk.

"Do not Act as if this was kept Secret! You are talking to One who saw to it that This world Honored the lost Spirits. The Nisell family can Create whatever it wishes!" Marco roared as he tuned Rubic with Graff. "I shall Synchro summon Virgil the Rockstar of the Burning Abyss!" Red and dark fire came together, creating the flaming guitar player Virgil(6/2500/1000). Meanwhile the grave-bound synchro material Graff special summoned a third Scarm Malebranche(3/800/2000) from Marco's deck. "Virgil may Return one card to the players Deck!" Marco discarded Draghig of the Burning Abyss from his hand. "Follow this song out of Hell and Be gone, Silver Claw!" With its instrument, Virgil played a haunting tune that forced the silver wolf off the fiery field and back into Uno's extra deck. "And now, I shall activate the Ritual spell: Good and Evil in the Burning Abyss!" This time he activated his Good and Evil spell on the field; tributing Scarm and a second Alich Malebranche from his hand. The discarded Alich also activated its effect, negating Dark Rebellion's effects for the rest of the turn and depowering it(2500/2000).

"Rituals too?" Dom gasped even louder. The two sacrifices served to give life to the leader of all Malebranchi; Malacoda the Netherlord of the Burning Abyss(6/2700/2200). "Your Fireflux cannot stop a battle phase by sacrificing Dark Rebellion, Christopher!" Marco's machinations were clear. He entered the battle phase. "No! But I can stop the battle damage by discarding Performapal Barrier Balloon Tapir!" Though Malacoda successfully massacred the black dragon with his two blades. A purple tapir balloon exploded in front of its face to keep it from damaging Uno at the same time.

"Hah! You cannot keep running, brother!" Marco ordered Virgil and Dante to attack Uno directly. "Who said I was running?!" In response, Uno flipped his trap card: Pendulum Back. "My trap will take back two of my Performers, as their levels lie between the scales of Fireflux and Pendulum Sorcerer!" Uno grabbed the Performapals Gold Fang and Skullcrobat Joker. "Then Barrier Balloon Tapir can revive itself from the graveyard by discarding one!" The balloon animal took the Goldfanged beast as a hand-sacrifice. Doing so allowed it(6/1000/2000) to be summoned to the field. "What on.." Marco made Virgil attack next. Naturally, Uno countered with this his Fireflux pendulum, tributing the Performapal Balloon to terminate another one of Marco's battle phases. "you're not letting him hit you." Anastasia noticed. "No. Not until he starts answering questions. Marco, you can lie all you want. But I can _feel_ the truth." Uno's eyes did not turn away from his brother even for a second. "I just do not know why."

"There is no why, Christopher. Whatever you think you saw, you were Deceived." Marco switched Dante the Pilgrim to defense mode and let his turn end. The effect of the final Scarm put a second Graff Burning Abyss in his hand. "Then we will see what the spirits have to say!" Uno started his turn and normal summoned Performapal Skullcrobat Joker(4/1800/100). "Salutiger!" With Skullcrobat's effect, Performapal Salutiger was added to his hand. "I Pendulum summon Performapal Salutiger and Handsome Liger!" And with his two pendulums, he emptied his hand to summon the military tiger warrior(4/1700/500) and a red tiger-armored samurai(4/1800/400) in attack mode. "Pendulum Sorcerer give them a boost!" The Sorcerers spell effect added 1000 attackpoints to the Liger Warrior(2800/400), Tiger Warrior(2700/100) and Purple Joker(4/2800/100). "Time to bring your Burning demons in for a close-up, Marco! I attack Dante, Vergil and Malacoda!" Skullcrobat Joker, Handsome Liger and Salutiger rushed to their respective attack targets, slaying the fusion, synchro and ritual monster in that order.

Marco's LP: 5300

"Fheh! Sending my monsters off will just awaken their final abilities, Christopher!" The death of the Pilgrim Dante would normally discard one card from Uno's hand. Except he did not have any cards in his hand at the time. "Summon!" On the other hand, Dante did discard Graff the Burning Abyss from Marco's hand before Skullcrobat Joker killed it. This allowed the infernal duelist to draw one new card and to special summon a second Cir Malebranche(3/1600/1200) from the deck. "Draw!" After the Rockstar Virgil's death, Marco was given a free draw from the deck. "And destroy Performapal Fireflux!" Finally, when the Netherlord Malacoda died, one card on the field was dragged down to hell along with it. The firebug pendulum was the unfortunate victim. "Got tired of me stopping you again and again eh? Well my Performapals activate their effects too!" Uno's deck opened up. "When Salutiger destroys a monster, I get a pendulum performapal from my deck! When Handsome Liger destroys a monster, I get a level 5 or higher pendulum monster!" Uno chose Performapal Cheermole and Dragonpit Magician as the targets for the retrieval effects. "I thought you had Regained your Power, Brother. Where is it? If You insist on Using such odd warriors, Christopher, you will Never get to Me!"

"This is my power too, Marco. You understand right? You have your own custom deck, so do I and so does Ana. And that is because we control what cards are made, what stories are passed on. Does this sound familiar to anyone?" He looked at Dom and his disciples in particular. "You're talking about Dreamworld?" Zach guessed. "Think deeper. Who gave you your ideas to begin with.. and what was his name? Oh by the way, Dom.. did you know Fort _uno_ is my middle name?" The master was key to this whole mystery. "You don't say! Sounds like a sketchy coincidence!" He said without thinking about it. "Are you still suggesting.. " Iria already knew where he was going with this, they had discussed this before. "Yes. I a,. I remember now; the one who wrote the stories of the first duelist and who secretly conferred with Dom to have his company create the cardgame in the other timeline. It was me.. I am the First Duelist."

"Uno.. is UNO?!" Alice cried out. It sounded so obvious when you spelled it out. "The vault we were trying to acquire, was yours all along." Adamant grimly concluded. It all came together. "Uno what now?" It made sense to everyone but Tory at least. "uno.. you spoke with this man, with one from the other world? you never told me that." Anastasia now understood why he had acted to strange during their duels before. "I think, I didn't want to bother you with that. It was my idea, I wanted the other world to have the same things as us. I could not give them everything of course, but the cards were important. It wouldn't have been right to let one world exist without ever knowing the stories of all the spirits and battles that we erased. So I used you Dom, yes. But you are more to me than a business partner, you were a friend too." Uno could not perfectly replicate how his past self felt about Dom, he just knew that was _how_ he felt about it now. "Huh, I would be touched if I wasn't so confused." Dom muttered.

"But ehr.. why are you saying all of this now?" Eric asked. "Good question." Uno turned his head back to his brother. "Because, while I did not tell my sister about this.. I told you, Marco. You and I were always more interested in continuing Tempus' legacy." He pointed a finger at him. "If I am UNO, then someone took over my job as Doms silent partner in my absence. Dom you said you told UNO about your disciples, right?" The master nodded. "Yet when Zach and I met a hologram of 'UNO', who proved that he could create cards at random, he did not recognize Zach. Something changed, UNO did. When Dom appeared in this world, the new UNO wanted him out of the picture before he could tell anyone else." He clenched his hand. "All of this points to the one who could banish me from my world and replace me, who could incarcerate Dom, could ambush me with Templars when nobody else knew I would be visiting Amelia's house. Not the Circle; it was you, Marco. Its not just gutfeelings and vague memories. The facts back it up!" Uno ended his turn at this point. "So please, stop lying to everyone and admit it!"

"Oh Brother." Marco let out a long deep sigh. "You want it so Much." A nasty smirk crossed his face as he began to chuckle. "I confess.. to All of it."

"I banished you, With my own Pendulum! I captured your Cardmaker as soon as He arrived here. It was Me. I took your Life away.." Marco drew his next card. "And now, you Force me to Take it again!" Marco normal summoned the vile Malebranche dragon Draghig(3/1100/900). He overlayed it with the demon Cir. "Come now, Dante the Traveler!" The two monsters XYZ-summoned Dante's younger incarnation; the red traveler(3/1000/2500). "Take the top three!" The Dante XYZ-monster detached one XYZ-material, so that it could take three cards away from Marco's deck. None of which turned out to be Malebranchi, fortunately. Still, Dante(2500/2500) gained 500 attackpoints for each of those cards. "And come Back, Virgil!" The detached XYZ-material was the Malebranche Cir. Its effect triggered to special summon the Rockstar of the Burning Abyss: Virgil(4/2500/1000). "From Nothing to Everything. That is the Way of the duelist, The First Duelist! Me! Christopher.. Brother.. You should not have Confronted me. Like before, it will only lead to your Defeat!"

(To be Continued in Redux 038: Brother Above, Brother Below)

 **New Cards used by Christopher Uno Nisell  
** Performapal Gold Fang  
Performapal Handsome Liger

 **New Cards used by Marco Amadeus Nisell  
** Cagna, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss

-  
Malacoda, Netherlod of the Burning Abyss

-  
Good and Evil in the Burning Abyss

 _-  
Descent of the Sacred Serpent_


	53. Brother Above, Brother below

**Redux 38: Brother Above, Brother Below**

"He copped to it!?.." Tory did not expect the Lord of the Union to reveal his crime. "How could you do it? To your own family?" Alice could not fathom that he committed the act in the first place. "Yeah well one thing is for sure, he is not getting away with it again!" Eric was angered enough to just jump in the duel to help Uno out. "How soon we Forget!" But Marco grabbed the pendulum from his pocket. "I believe My words were something to the Effect of this Battle being between the Two of us!" The crystal lit up and placed a bright forcefield around the two duelists. "Hey!" Eric and the others were kept outside. "marco..why.." Anastasia could not get through it either. "You of all People should know Why. Or were you as Oblivious as our Brother? I had hoped to Spare you this Sight, sister. But that Time has passed!"

Marco's LP: 5300 Uno's LP: 8000

On his field Marco controlled the the Rockstar of the Burning Abyss: Virgil(4/2500/1000) and the powered up Traveler of the Abyss Dante(3/2500/1500). "I banish Good and Evil in the Burning Abyss!" His already used ritual spell activated from the grave, discarding a Malebranche Graff from his hand to add a The Traveler and the Burning Abyss trap card to Marco's hand. With Graff sent to the graveyard, Marco could activate that monsters effect to special summon the bearded brute Malebranche Barbar(4/1700/1000) from his deck. "By banishing Terminus of the Burning Abyss from My graveyard, one Burning Abyss demon shall be Granted 800 attackpoints until my next turn!" Both Terminus fusion spells were exiled from the grave to redirect power towards the demon Barbar(3200/0). "My Abyssals, attack the Fallen Brother!" Barbar caved the face in of Uno's Performapal Handome Liger(4/1800/400). Virgil rocked Performapal Salutiger(4/1700/500) to death with a fiery dirge. And Performapal Skullcrobat Joker(4/1800/100) was slain by Dante's dark magic blasts. "Gwah!" Uno was caught off guard by the remaining damage and knocked down to the ground. "Uno!" Adamant shouted. The Lord had gone beyond mere holograms.

Uno's LP: 5000

"Heheh, I get it." Uno chuckled. "What is Hilarious to you Now, brother?" Marco roared. "I remembered what your favorite story was. You always compared me to Dante and yourself to Virgil. Now I know why. You were jealous of me." Uno shrugged off the damage and got back up. "Fantasize while You have the Time, Brother." Marco placed two trap cards down and ended his turn. "Oh its more than a fantasy. You took my title, but I was always fathers first. I will show you what the True UNO can do!" Uno winked at Dom as he activated Dragonpit Magician (scale 8). The tribal mage would replace the destroyed Fireflux.

"You mock our Fathers inheritance with those Pendulums!" Marco laughed and flipped his trap card. "Fire Lake of the Burning Abyss! It sends two of my Burning Abyss monsters to the Depths, to Cast as many as Three of your cards into Hell as well!" A chasm opened in the floor revealing the burning lake of the inferno. Barbar and Dante were sacrificed to it to feed its flames. "Remove the those Pendulums from my Sight!" Dragonpit Magician and Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer were pulled in next, and immolated into the blackest of ashes. "So much for my cards." Dom sulked. "It was a fine effort, sir." Zach cheered him up. At this point Barbar's effect was activated. The dying demon-barbarian consumed the fallen Malebranchi: Draghig, Scarm and Cagna from the graveyard, and sent their souls out to haunt Uno. He took 300 points of damage for each banished monster. "Huhnn.. Is that all, Marco?" The attack made him feel physically ill, but it was nothing that could keep him down.

Uno's LP: 4100

"Is it My show now then, Brother? How unfortunate then, That Your hell has only Just begun!" Marco activated his other trap card. "The Traveler and the Abyss! Each Burning Abyss monster sent to their Death this turn is given New life!" The Traveler Dante(3/1000/2500), the Barbar Malebranche and even the attached XYZ-material Malebranche Draghig resummoned themselves from the graveyard. "Great.." Uno's field was spent, lacking even a defense. "I activate Pot of Riches! I recycle three pendulum monsters from the extra deck and graveyard to draw two cards!" The pendulum drawing spell was his last chance. He returned Performapal Gold Fang, Skullcrobat Joker and Fireflux to get his two cards. "...Tuning Magician?" They weren't new pendulums, but Uno saw them as an omen. "I set one card in the spell/trap zone. And end my turn." At the very least he got one more shot. "Marco, father gave me the Magicians. But what did he give you?"

"Do you truly Care, Brother?" Marco drew his next card. "Father gave you Everything, he Intended for you to Be his successor. And look how you Squandered his Gifts! I took Nothing, everything you See is My Creation and they have Overpowered you at Every turn! And this is my Greatest!" Marco suddenly discarded a Calcab Malebranche monster from his hand. "By giving up One Burning Abyssal, I can Evolve my XYZ-monster!" He placed a new XYZ-card on top of the Traveler Dante; transforming him into a heavenly lady(6/2500/2800) dressed in white nun robes. "Behold Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal! If I am to be Vergil and you Dante. Then consider this My ode to Our sister!" Marco bellowed. "this is how you see me?" Anastasia murmured. "Now, when Calcab is sent to the graveyard, he returns One spell on the field to a players hand! Brother, this is The End!" Calcab's effect targeted Uno's set card.

"No. not yet Marco!" Uno could activate his spell before it was removed. "Super Hippo Carnival!" And he created five new monsters with it. "What!?" The pink Performapal Hip Hippo(3/800/800) was special summoned from Uno's deck, and so were four Hippo dancers(1/0/0) in defense mode. "This spell summons Hip Hippo and his whole token ensemble!" The hippo tokens had to be destroyed first before anything else could be attacked. "Pfah! It is Precisely because of Cards like these, That I cannot Understand why father chose you." Marco had no choice but to play along. He entered his battle phase; Virgil, Draghig, Barbar and Beatrice attacked the orange, yellow, green and blue hippos. All four tokens perished. "Is that why you banished me? Because you felt you deserved it more? How long have we been together? Why act now?" Uno shouted. "Because there was Finally a world I wanted To rule, and a World where you could Wallow forever. I did not Foresee your Return, certainly not the Way you are now; Brother." Marco was done with his turn. "When I banished you, I didn't expect you to become younger as well."

"Really? Maybe that's why father chose me, because you couldn't control your power that well! You aren't even using pendulum monsters right now, Marco! But.." Uno drew his next card and activated it. "You cannot stop me from using mine! Pendulum Call!" The spell discarded a card from his hand; Tuning Magician, to place two pendulum Magicians in his hand. "I take Dragonpulse and Xiangsheng Magician from my deck and set them on the field!" The dragon mage (scale 1) and the creation mage (scale 8) flanked the pendulum duelist. "And I pendulum summon my monsters! From my hand!" Performapal Cheermole(2/600/1000) bounced unto the field in defense mode. "And my extra deck!" Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer(4/1500/1200) and the crowned Dragonpit Magician(7/900/2700) arrived in a shaft of lightning. "Pendulum Sorcerers effect destroys two cards to add two Performapals from my deck to my hand!" The Sorcerer swung his pendulum through Performapal Hip Hippo and the Performapal Pinch Helper continuous trap, shattering them. Uno then drew the Performapals Changeraffe and Bit Bite Turtle from his deck.

"Yeah, there we go! Show him who's the boss!" Eric cheered on triumphantly. "Uno, it's time for that special card isn't it?" Alice realized his field was foreshadowing a certain monster. "Almost. First I bring in Performapal Changeraffe, who negates your monsters effect when she is summoned!" The pinkhaired giraffe(1/100/500) dropped in besides the other performers to throw a hula hoop around Beatrice's waist. "Negated?" Each turn Beatrice could send Burning Abyss cards from the deck to the graveyard. That was a liability that Uno rather liked to avoid. "Now, watch this! Since I have two Magicians in my pendulum zones, I can special summon Tuning Magician from my graveyard!" Uno's last monster zone was given to the tuning fork mage(1/0/0). When summoned, it would take 400 of Uno's lifepoints and give them to Marco. "What are you Doing now, Brother?"

Marco's LP: 5700 Uno's LP: 3700

"Just .. some fine-tuning!" Uno tuned the Magician tuner with Dragonpit Magician. "Synchro summon! Enlightenment Paladin!" Together they formed his white mage knight; Enlightenment Paladin(8/2500/2000). "Enlightenment Paladin lets me take back one spell, when a pendulum summoned spellcaster was one of his nontuner synchro materials!" The temporal Paladin changed the flow of time for one of Uno's cards: Pot of Riches. He reclaimed it. "So, this is what he has been making with his powers.." Adamant got a good first impression from this card. "Sister, you let a Thing like that Defeat you?" Marco not so much. "She let me win, Marco. Because she wanted to help me return to who I was. To reverse time.. just like this card did. But I suppose you're gonna need something bigger, aren't you Marco? You want proof that I am back to my full power?" Uno picked the Cheermole card from his field. "Then I will create a new synchro monster right now! I tune Cheermole with Enlightenment Paladin!" The cheering performer turned into two green tuning rings. "What!? But Cheermole is not a tuner!" Iria protested. "Nope. But this synchro monster I am about to summon.. can treat any pendulum summoned monster as a tuner!" Enlightenment Paladin jumped through the circles. Its eight stars joined with Cheermole's two.

"Synchro summon! Nirvana High Paladin!" The paladin exchanged his white clothes for blue robes, orange orbs and golden rings. The swordsman(10/3300/2500) of time reached a new stage of enlightenment. "You bend the Rules of the Game just to synchro Summon without tuners? Preposterous!" The outrage was clear on Marco's face. "Hey, nothing is stopping you from doing the same. We're all Nisells here!" Uno smirked while his new synchro monster rotated his sword to reverse time's flow again "Nirvana High Paladin can also take one card from the past, any card!" Uno used the effect to take the Pendulum Back trap card from his graveyard. "And he also speeds up time, for lifepoints!" Uno moved to his battle phase. "When Nirvana High destroys one monster, my opponents lifepoints are cut in half!" The Paladin pointed his sword towards Beatrice now. "I attack the Eternal Lady!" With a simple swing from the blade, the Lady Beatrice was taken down. Her spirit dissipated and returned to the abyss. "Graah!" The battle damage was multiplied by the Paladins effect, causing Marco to be knocked back against his own throne.

Marco's LP: 2450

"Things shall not be so easy, Brother!" Because Dante had been sent to the graveyard, Marco could take a Burning Abyss monster out of his graveyard again: Malacoda the Netherlord was chosen. "As well, When Beatrice dies, she can summon Any Burning Abyssal from my extra Deck!" The spirit of Beatrice returned one more time to summon another Virgil Rockstar(6/2500/2000) to Marco's side. "Hmm.. well, my Performapals can't put them down, but.." Uno ordered Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer to attack and destroy the burning dragon Draghig. "My Magicians can, Dragonpulse will destroy one monster by discarding a pendulum!" Uno discarded Performapal Bit Bite Turtle from his hand and let his dragon witch target the older of the two Virgils. The Rockstar was removed by a quick bolt of fire. "Bah!" Thanks to Virgil's destruction, Marco could draw one card. "Before I call this in, let's reuse Pot of Riches as well." The pendulum pot reactivated; sending Performapal Cheermole, Bit Bite Turtle and Dragonpit Magician back to Uno's deck. He drew another pair of cards. "Marco. You should have told me how you felt." Uno placed three trap cards down behind his monsters and let his turn end. "We finally were at peace. Why did we have to go through all of this?"

Marco's LP: 2050

"Peace? The world was not at Peace, brother. You did not see that, Because you were Not fit to rule Millennium. You refused to Take the hard handed Approach with Resistant factions; you fought against the Creation of the Templars and the Inquisitors! You would have Destroyed everything we Built with your soft Ideas." Marco spat. "I activate Recurring Nightmare!" A spell erupted, filling the room with shadows. "I reclaim two dark monsters with 0 defense points: Alich and Calcab!" Two Malebranche monsters left the graveyard to enter Marco's waiting hands. Alich was promptly discarded to activate the effect of the second Rockstar Virgil. "I do not Need your kind of Power! When I have Mine! Virgil, remove his Synchro monster!" If he had his way, the Nirvana Paladin would be forced back into Uno's extra deck. "We need each other, Marco. We are a family!" But Uno countered with one of his traps. "!?" Rather, one of Marco's traps. Uno activated Descent of the Sacred Serpent, which made his synchro paladin immune to the effects of Marco's synchro monster. "He created the same trap that Marco did?!" Tory yelled. "Geez, these guys are both nuts."

"The world does Not need You, Brother. I have Run this Union fine on my Own! I activate Good and Evil in the Burning Abyss!" If extra deck monsters couldn't work, Marco would just summon his ritual monster again. "I sacrifice Virgil!" The Good and Evil ritual spell made the Rockstar forfeit his life and levels to the crimson devil Malacoda(6/2700/2200). "I forgot to Tell you. Malacoda can Sever the Abyssals from my hand, to Drain the power from your Monster!" Marco discarded the Burning Abyss Calcab, and converted its 1400 attackpoints into a pool of black energy. That spell washed over the Paladin of Nirvana(1900/2500) and depowered it. "Fall! Fall far from Heaven!" The Netherlord clenched its swords tightly, as did the Paladin. The two raced towards each other and slashed themselves across the chests. Only one came out of the battle unscathed; Nirvana High fell to bloody pieces as Malacoda cackled loudly.

Uno's LP: 2900

"This is about more than the world now, Marco. It's about the future, of both worlds." Before Nirvana High perished, Uno used one last trap card: Cosmic Cyclone. With it he banished his own Xiangsheng Magician. "What are you talking about? And what are you doing?" The spell cost 1000 lifepoints to use, and Uno was not even using it against Marco. "Because of the split timeline, one of the two worlds is going to be destroyed! You must have known about this! There were people who told you!" Vesper might not have been the nicest person, but she wouldn't have lied about that. "Does it matter? Even if the Worlds are destroyed, the Pendulums will keep us Alive! If I have to Restart everything Without you. I will!" Barbar the Malebranche took his spiked club and smashed Performapal Chaingiraffe's face in. "You can't mean that! What about all the people you leave behind?!" Alice cried. "They no longer Exist, there is Nothing to lament." He stated, fully aware of who he was saying it too. "No.. you.." Because of reasons like his, she lost her family. "How.."

Uno's LP: 300

"Alice.. it will never happen again." Seeing her on the verge of a breakdown, all Uno could was to make her this promise. "Uno." It stopped her tears at the very least. "Marco. I have heard enough from you. When Nirvana High is destroyed, it can set itself in my pendulum zone!" There was the reason for his banishment of Xiangsheng. The Paladin (scale 8) had to become the new pendulum card. "It was a synchro and a pendulum monster?!" Zach gasped. "Just like that Odd-Eyes Rebellion card of his." The thought to combine such cards never crossed Dom's mind. "My turn!" Uno activated his last face-down card: Pendulum Back. He took two monsters from his graveyard whose levels worked with scales of 1 and 8: Performapal Salutiger and Handsome Liger. "Pendulum! Summon!" And then he flooded the zones between Dragonpulse Magician and Nirvana High Paladin. The Tiger warrior(4/1700/500), Liger samurai(4/1800/400) and Performapal Splashmammoth(6/1900/2300) all jumped out from either his extra deck or his hand and joined forces with the Pendulum Sorcerer.

"This is the finale, Marco." The band was all here, it was time to commence the battle. "Splashmammoth attacks Malacoda!" The longhaired elephant shot water from its trunk to launch its ball at the Netherlord like a missile. "Uno!?" His friends all thought he'd gone mad. "Brother, what.." But when the ball struck Malacoda, it popped and knocked Malacoda(800/2200) back. "What.. happened?" Marco's monster was losing attackpoints. Barbar(0/1200) suffered as well. "My pendulum synchro happened. When a pendulum monster attacks, Nirvana High Paladin negates all the damage me and my monsters take!" The Splashmammoth was still fine, Malacoda could not retaliate due to the Paladins divine aura. "And when a pendulum battles! All my opponents will lose attackpoints equal to theirs!" The Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer attacked next, hitting the weakened Barbar and destroying it. "Grah. You cannot Intend to end it This way!" His brother cursed. One monster was gone, and Malacoda(0/2200) lost 1500 attackpoints; more than it owned.

Marco's LP: 450

"Handsome Liger, attack The Netherlord of the Burning Abyss!" The next attack from his warriors would take care of the rest, permanently. "Christopher!" In his final moment, Marco reached for his crystal and..

Marco's LP: 5300 Uno's LP: 4100

"I activate Beatrice's effect!" He suddenly controlled Beatrice the Eternal Lady again. "What!?" And Uno was back to his field from before he summoned Enlightenment Paladin, with the Performapals Cheermole, Pendulum Sorcerer and Dragonpit Magician in his control. "She detaches Dante from herself, discards Farfa of the Burning Abyss and banishes Dragonpit Magician for one turn!" But this time the turn progressed differently, Marco banished Uno's dragon mage with Farfa, before Uno could even normal summon Performapal Changeraffe from his hand. And the detached Dante placed a Cir Malebranche in Marco's hands this time. "What, what happened? Weren't we supposed to.." Eric and the others were just as confused as Uno was. "marco, you didn't.." Only Anastasia could immediately process what took place; a time shift. "I made a Mistake in the Past. I simply Needed to Correct it." Marco still held his crystal in his hand, with its pale green glow. "You used the pendulum to reverse time?!" Adamant exclaimed. "Indeed. It seems your Memories were not Erased. You carry too Many pendulums of your Own." Marco chuckled. "That's cheating!" Tory protested. "It is our Power." Marco countered.

"Brother. The Future towards your Victory has been Destroyed!" Uno lacked the materials to summon Enlightenment Paladin now, let alone Nirvana High Paladin. "So this is how..." The best Uno could do was set Performapal Bit Bite Turtle in defense mode, have Skullcrobat Joker destroy Draghig with an attack again and end his turn. "You never Learned how to Do what I could do. Otherwise, you would not be Losing to me Now." Marco drew his card. "This is the end!" He discarded Cir with Virgil's effect to return Bit Bite Turtle to Uno's deck and revived Calcab(3/1400/0) with Cir's effect. "I win!" And all his monsters attacked Uno's two...

(To be Continued in Redux 037: He who Controls the Past)

 **New Cards used by Uno  
** Nirvana High Paladin

-  
Super Hippo Carnival

 _-  
Descent of the Sacred Serpent_

 **New Cards used by Marco  
** Barbar, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss

-  
Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal

-  
Recurring Nightmare

-  
Fire Lake of the Burning Abyss

(To be Continued in Redux 037: He who Controls the Past)


	54. He Who Controls the Past

**Redux 37: He who Controls the Past**

Marco's LP: 5300 Uno's LP: 4200

The nightmare repeated itself, Uno was to lose to his own brother. Virgil the Rockstar(6/2500/1000) led the assault and destroyed Uno's Pendulum sorcerer(4/1500/1200). Malebranche Calcab(3/1400/0) killed Performapal Cheermole(2/600/1000). Malebranche Barbar(3/1700/1000) attacked directly. "No, you can't do this!" Despite the cries of Alice and everyone else, Marco was going to win the duel that originally ended with his loss. Beatrice the Eternal Lady(6/2500/2800) would remove the remaining lifepoints with her holy magic. There was nothing he could do.

Uno's LP: 1500

But their sister could. "marco!" Anastasia took her pendulum crystal back from Alice and forced her way through the barrier. "Anastasia? You would Fight me?" She stood in between the two duelists now, rejecting Beatrice's attack with a single swipe. "no. that is what we promised.. we would never use this power against each other. you have broken the bond yourself." The orange glow of her crystal overpowered his green light and broke the barrier entirely. Then it tore down the monsters on the field, forcing their spirits into the abyss. "It wont work this time, Marco. I cant believe you would abuse the pendulum like that." Now Uno knew how Marco beat him the first time. "Then you favor each other. One by one, you all turn against me." Marco growled. "i only wanted to live like family, marco. but after everything we went through, you still wanted to make our family smaller.." Anastasia was not angry, she only sounded hurt. "Marco, _you_ betrayed the family. You did this to yourself." Whatever Marco would try next, he could not overpower two pendulum users on his own.

"Milord!" But as it turned out, Uno was not the only Nisell with a rescuer waiting in the wings. "My Inquisitor?" A secret door behind the throne opened up and Iria Silver marched through with several guards. "Iria?!" This was the first time Zach laid eyes upon Iria's counterpart, which gave him quite the whiplash. "I was wondering where she was." Dom was not all that adjusted to there being two of her either, with his memories still a little tussled up. "You? What are you doing here?" Tory meanwhile would rather have never seen her again. "Preventing an assault on our Lord, of course!" The Inquisitor's men aimed their guns at the duelists. "Then you should be arresting that guy! He's the one who threw Lord Uno out of the palace in the first place!" Eric shouted. "You expect me to believe that?" Silver rasped. "You can believe me, Silver! And Lady Anastasia! She will vouch for all of us!" The last thing Uno wanted was to have a misunderstanding. "She will? It is true then?" The Inquisitor turned to Lord Marco for a response. "It is.. they know." He answered her calmly. "Then, I know my duty..." Silver sighed.

She threw a round ball at the floor in front of Marco which exploded in a burst of light. "Gaaah!" Everyone but Marco was temporarily blinded as the lord covered his eyes in advance. "Milord. These men and I will be forever loyal to you. Tell us what to do!" She kneeled before Marco along with her men. "What!? Are you crazy?" Tory yelled. "Heh. As crazy as you were when you sacrificed yourself for your 'friends'; Tory." Silver sneered. "You're making a mistake! You don't know what that man is capable of!" Iria tried to appeal to her senses. "Hmph." But before she could tell her counterpart about the countless of people Marco left behind in the past, the lord had already built up enough power in his pendulum to prepare a teleport. "Farewell, brother and sister. We will see each other again, in another time" He gloated right before he and his followers disappeared from the throne room. "Marco!"

...

The throne room did not feel safe anymore after that. Everyone else regrouped back at the banquet hall. But nothing happened, no templars came and no alarms were raised. It seemed Marco was not taking any immediate countermeasures, giving them all the chance to rest. And while Anastasia went out to explain what happened to the rest of the Union, Uno made attempts to find his runaway brother. "It's not working." Alas, the crystal offered no easy answers. "Can't you just do that Neter trick again, the one where you just tell the pendulum to take you to someone?" Eric wondered. "I thought I could, but it's not letting me. I can't even get a feel of Marco or his crystal." And unless he knew where Marco headed off too, he could not go by location either. "Perhaps he is too far away for you to find him, or he can mask his presence somehow." Adamant suggested. Not that the info helped even if it was true. "Can't we track him through the network?" Iria inquired. Marco did take his dueldisk with him. "We tried, but we can't track those either. I assume the Inquisitor would know best how to hide yourself from other inquisitions. They were prepared for this. I should check the other control cities, Marco might have gone there to take over before we could give the union a warning."

"Wait!" Alice shouted. "Do.. do you have to go?" She asked pleadingly. "I cannot let him run around unchecked. Who knows what he'll do now that he's desperate." Uno thought he understood his brother, but even those memories were all based on Marco's facade. "But.. what if he attacks you again? You almost lost. I thought.. we had lost you this time." That kind of reasoning was not enough for her. "Alice, I wont be going alone. Anastasia will travel with me, Marco can't face us together. You don't have to worry about me." They had at least proven that. "He's right honey. I don't know exactly what is going on, but it seems like he does. You can let him do what he has to." James only wanted her daughter to rest. Thirty hours without resting could not be good for her. "But what if its already too late? What if its going to happen again? Dad.. he's gonna take everyone away, mom.. Emily.. you.. I don't want.. I don't want to see that again!" She cried and closed her eyes. "Everyone?" James didn't understand. "Oh. That's right.. we never..." Uno realized James did not know about Alice's original timeline.

"he cannot do it right now." Anastasia declared clearly as she entered the hall. "Huh?" Alice opened her eyes. "to reverse the flow of time takes a lot of energy from the pendulum. just using it in quick bursts will only get you back a couple of minutes. it will undo any change that affected the world, and erase the memories of all those on it. you experienced that, and remember it because you were all touched by the pendulums power. but.. to go back weeks, years, decades, millennia; you need to bend space and time on a greater scale. that takes more power than one crystal can hold. marco can't leave without our crystals, father arranged it that way. if he tries to use it, we will know." Her pendulum crystal was not glowing now, which was a good sign. "Then.. the world is not going to end?" Alice whimpered and wiped her tears away. "I hope not. That's where all my stuff is!" Dom sighed a breath of relief. "Still, I cannot imagine he is harmless." Iria thought. "No. We have to find him before he does anything crazy. Alice, everyone.. try to get some sleep. It's been a long day. Ana and I will try to take care of this."

...

Somewhere else, in one of the few places not known to the Union, the guilds reaped their rewards. "I have a question; why are we still here? We got what we came for didn't we?" Yet some were unsatisfied. "Uh yeah, I checked and double-checked. It's all there, any card you can think of. Oh... Phoebe should have seen it, she would have been so happy." Marie Celeste was in a relatively high spirits, despite a few recent setbacks. "And it is truly that easy? There are no safeguards or, dare I say it, magical protections?" Ichirou was a little more skeptical. "Oh we still need to do a lot of testing and text translating, but it seems that simply knowing the names and appearances of the forgotten cards is enough to awaken their power. Some cards are more receptive than others... but Doms digital vault gave us everything we need." She made it sound easy. "Then I ask again, why are we staying? We have another world to keep in check. And if Uno can truly appear wherever he wants to be now, he could show up at our doorstep any second." Ichirou wondered why he was the only one worried about that. "I'd like to see him try, now that we have the same kind of power he does. This is my home, and I am not going to get chased out of it so easily." Celeste hissed.

"Something is wrong." Martel walked into the room, or he'd been inside the room all this time. It was hard to tell with this man. "Wrong? Wrong for us, or wrong for others?" Celeste found it hard to tell what he was saying at times as well. "For the pendulums. There has been a shift in balance, orange and blue have turned against green. They will not find us here. They are distracted... " The puppetmaster claimed as his eyes gazed far ahead. "What keen insight. How did you come to know this?" Ichirou inquired. "Because we are all special." Martel said as he stroked his doll. "That's.. not an answer." The XYZ-duelist sighed. "We should strike now, while they are weakened." The other ignored him to make his bold statement. "Strike? At them? We don't know yet what we're exactly capable of!" It did not strike much of a cord with the others. "I know what I am capable of." Martel said, his voice growing deep. "To unite, I need them all. I want them all.. And I always get what I want."

...

"Yeah. Yeah I know. Limbo just listen to me! The boss is bad news! Because I said so! Because he heard it from Uno and Alice! No I dont know how it all fits together. I've been busy today and I don't know where to begin; with the psychic cult or the founding family fued!.. No I didn't dream it! Yes you should have asked me how I was first! I was a card for like two days! Just lay low for now okay? Guh!" Tory ended the call. The goal was to relay some valuable information to her partners. But she wound up broadcasting to a wider area than she had intended. "Ahem, could you keep it down, young lady. Some people are trying to sleep on this floor." Tory's shouts drew the the ire of a certain mother. "Mrs Stonewell!?" Tory flinched. "..No wait.. not her.."

"I do not believe we have been properly introduced." The woman murmured. "Oh, sorry. This must be confusing to you too. How to say this... I know a Mrs Stonewell already, the one that lives in Skyheart city." She quickly revealed. "Oh. Yes, I suppose that would have to be true." Mrs Stonewell was still dealing with the concept of multiple universes, so the thought of a second 'her' was only taken into consideration just now. "You're the girl Eric talked about, my Eric I mean.. so you've met our family in this world." She breathed in. "Should I ask what they are like? I've seen the other .. Eric.. from time time. But he seems intent on avoiding me." Mrs Stonewell said with a discouraged tone. "Ehhh, its complicated. I mean you're a nice person, I am sure. Both of you, but the world just did some unpleasant stuff to people he knew, and he kinda felt like he had to get out of the house to make a difference. Its not her fault, and not yours either... hrmrh.. Am I explaining this well?" Tory waited for a reply. "Well enough. I just want him to be happy too. Even if he isn't my son." The woman smiled. "Yeah well, same goes for me. I just wish he'd call back already, he's gotta lot of catching up to do. I mean how long is he gonna stay at that Amelia girl's place, pfeh..."

...

"Nothing here either. Are you sure?" This was the last of the worlds control cities. The word there was the same as everywhere else. "No sir. We have not heard from lord Marco. Uhm.. what should we do now?" The governer of the city was a little anxious about the news that spread across Millennium, and about the two lords in front of him. "There's no need to be afraid of me. Just run business as you normally would. And try to keep this from spreading." The governer nodded. The Union never used the Lords for every decision anyway. "Let's go." Uno and Anastasia immediately warped back to the palace of the first city. "I don't understand him, what he is playing at?" They had been searching until sunset and still there was no trace of him. "marco always spoke loud, but never much about himself. i just assumed he didn't want to bother us with politics." Anastasia shook her head. She did not show it, but Uno knew her brothers betrayal was affecting her too. "What could happen if he does go back in time?" Uno wanted to be certain of the ramifications; the worst case scenario. "they, the guardians of time would freeze the world and only we would be aware of it. everything else would be erased."

"The guardians of time.." The image of the Qliphort machines flashed through his mind. "I have seen them, more than once, haven't I?" A few more memories flooded back in. "yes. we faced them before, when we went too far. we could never stop them, we could only run. we can only ever run.. it was so tiring..."

"Uno!" Adamant, Dom and the disciples walked in on them. Uno made the promise before to return to the throne room at the end of his search, and that was where Adamant and the Dreamworld crew decided to wait. "I take it that you have had no luck." He concluded once he registered their expressions. "No. There is one more place I want to check. The Monument. Marco can cause a lot of trouble there." That was as good a reason as any to anticipate his brothers appearance there. "I see. Do you need us to go with you? We are familiar with the location." Adamant offered. "No. Me and Ana will go, we know how to get there. I'd rather you guys stay here and protect the palace. Marco might show up again." Uno could not be in two places at once, he depended on them too. "That suits us. We still have a lot to talk about ourselves." Iria muttered. "Yeah but I sure hope this nasty business gets fixed quick. Alot of that talk involves you too UNO my boy. I tell ya, finally have the first duelist in front of me and he keeps disappearing on me." Dom chuckled. "We will, later."

"Uno. Are you certain about this? The more forces you have.." Adamant grabbed his shoulder briefly but tensely. "I.. am, Adamant. Relax a little, keep an eye on Alice and Eric. That will help me a lot more. Okay?" All Uno did was look him in the eyes.. "I..." Adamant released his grip immediately. "No, I get it. It's fine." Uno grinned. "In spite of your remembered past, you have not changed much. Even so... the place you are about to visit, have you been there before?" He knew Uno probably didn't need to envision the location, but there was a second reason for him asking this. "I.." Uno closed his eyes and thought back. "Oh." It took him a moment to realize what Adamant wanted to say. "Yeah, of course I have. I'm sorry, we're gonna have to shelve that topic too for now." He turned around as Anastasia grabbed his hand. "Just hang in there." The two beamed away, leaving the XYZ-leader standing with a closed fist.

...

The two re-appeared inside the core room of the Monument, where the computer was still running. And as much as Uno would have liked to keep ignoring the topic, it was much harder from the inside. "uno.. you know who built this place, don't you?" His sister could read him like a book. "Yeah.. Me." He finally said it. This was what Iria tried to tell him before. "They know it too, or suspect it. I'm not sure if they blame me for it, and I can't really explain myself to them either." He still wasn't the guy who he used to be, who actually remembered why he wanted to create a prison like this. "This technology to turn people into cards, Tempus didn't really invent it, did he? The time guardians have that ability too, to just make people and objects disappear. Is that why.." There was a connection there, he just could not see it. "it was one reason. you wanted to find a way to restore what the guardians destroyed. you thought that creating the monument would help you study their terrifying power. and if that failed, it at least gave you something to preserve others with.. or so you theorized. but marco was the one who weaponized the ability.."

"Maybe, but I did not stop him. Well.. Anyway; everything looks okay here. I don't think Marco stopped by. Better make sure." Uno walked up to the computer and checked the profiles of all the 'inmates'. He knew the terminal like he'd designed it, which was probably true. "if the inquisitor is on his side, he might not need this place to control the templars. and he would not care about the prisoners. but.. you would." Anastasia moved in closer. "i know why you really came here, uno. you want to bring _them_ in. do you think this will help?" She saw him searching for a specific file. "It has to. We can't find Marco on our own, we need someone who has experience with chasing timetravelers. Besides.." Uno made the machines release one card. "Knowing what I know now, he shouldn't have been put in here to begin with. We can do a lot more working together, than we could by fighting each other." He pushed a button to start the de-carding process and waited. A beam of light shot through the card and slowly reformed the physical body of its prisoner.

"Wh..at?"

"August, welcome back." The red dragon duelist was restored, looking exactly as he did when he lost to Marco; dueldisk and all. "You. What have you done to me? And who is she?" The disoriented duelist stared at his own hands and the bright world around. "You were carded by Marco Amadeus, but I changed you back. Its been a few days since then." Uno said. "Amadeus!? Where is he?" August flew into an immediate rage upon the mention of his name. "There is something you need to know first, August." If there was to be union of forces, Uno had to give him the truth. "I am Christopher Fortuno Nisell." The whole truth. "I am Tempus' son. And I need your help now.."

(To be Continued in Redux 036: Extinction Defined)


	55. Extinction Defined

**Redux 36: Extinction Defined**

"Adamant?"

"Alice.. have you gotten some rest?" Adamant inquired as he saw her open the door. "Yeah, a little. I was just a bit thirsty.. so I got up. But.. why are you standing outside of my room?" The XYZ-duelist was standing just a few feet away from it. "To keep an eye on you and the others, should Marco return." That was what Uno requested, and he would follow it to the letter. "Oh.. thanks. Has anything happened yet?" She asked him. "No. Nothing." He replied sternly. "...But you look so tense. Like.. you could squeeze a rock into a diamond." The way he looked was making her worried even when he was giving good news. "It's nothing. You're only seeing.. a weakness of mine." He turned around and gazed out the windows. "Weakness?" She blinked and got closer. "To do nothing, to be led.. is difficult. And I do not know what I could do.. now. I thought I would find my purpose here, but instead.." He balled his hand into a fist. "It was all a lie. There was never going to be an invasion. I prepared the XYZ-guild for the wrong enemy, and now I lost them."

"So that's why.. because of what Aaron said." It was no wonder he was so restless after that discovery. "But.. isn't there still the prophecy?" It was not as if everything he based his work on was a lie, she thought. "I am not sure about that either, now. There is so much I did not know." With all the time traveling and alternate realities, an omen of one future hardly meant anything. So that approach didn't work either. "Ehr.. there is more to dueling than just fighting?" Instead Alice recited some lines she was pretty sure she used in their duel way back. "I know what you are trying to do. I appreciate it, but it wont work." Adamant muttered. "I will get over it in time. Go get your water." He put up half of a smile, which was enough. "Yeah.. in time." Alice smiled back. "Like dad says.. time heals all wounds. Right?"

...

"Son? Tempus? You?" Uno knew he could expect a heated response from the de-carded prisoner, once he told him who he was. ".. and that woman too." August cooled down a little just so he could sense the power of their crystals. "She is my sister.. Anastasia Nisell." But the truth had to come out. "Then you are one of them! We were right, we just didnt know how many of you there were! Tempus! Where have you brought me?" The process worked a little too well. August immediately activated dueldisk. Half his mind was set on dueling them both at the same time. The other just wanted to know what this monument was about. "Look, we need your help. Marco has.." Rather than rise to his challenge, Uno attempted dialogue. "If you are too afraid to answer me, then.." Instead August ran out of the computer room. He would get the answers himself. "Wait! You can't.." Uno chased after him. He had to stop him before he ran off the place and plummeted to his death. "What.." August at least didn't get that far.

 **"UNSCHEDULED RELEASE DETECTED. SERIES D CODE 46330165 MOVING TO OFFENSIVE MODE"** Mostly because a Templar drone intercepted him right outside the hallways. "So that's how it is? You're going to let a machine do your dirty work?" August snarled. "you triggered the security system." Anastasia explained. "Damn it, August. Think, why would we let you go if we wanted to capture you again?" Uno yelled. "Hold on.." He tried to get the Templar to stand down with the golden Millennium seal card. **"NOT RECOGNIZED."** But the templar shrugged it off. "Again?" It did not perceive them as threats but not as masters either. "marco or silver.. must have rescinded the seal overrides." Anastasia gasped. "Explains how he did that before." Uno already figured Marco, rather than the synchro guild, had been responsible for that earlier templar malfunction. Them using Goyo synchros was just a way to distract him. "What are you trying to do? I do not need your mercy. You saw me lay waste to scores of these pathetic machines. One is no issue at all!" August engaged.

August's LP: 8000 Templar D's LP: 8000

"but my brother took your red dragon." Anastasia reminded the red duelist that he no longer had his ace or its upgrades to fall back on. "I am more than just the legacy of the red archfiend dragon, woman!" He snarled as he placed a monster down and two trap cards. "Let him do this, Ana." Uno knew getting involved would just make the drone create more virtual opponents. "Your turn, you miscreation!"

 **"BEGINNING TURN 02. DRAW. ACTIVATE THE CONTINUOUS SPELL DINOMIST CHARGE. SELECT ONE DINOMIST CARD FROM THE DECK AND ADD IT TO THE HAND."** The machine revealed its deck with a continuous spell. With Dinomost Charge it claimed an Dinomist Ankylos card. "Dinomists.. the third archetype." This was not unfamiliar terrain thanks to the Inquisitor. But it was the first time Uno would see the main deck cards in action **. "SET THE SCALES DINOMIST CERATOPS AND PLESIOS."** Like all other Templar types, the Dinomists were pendulum monsters. A mechanical triceratops (scale 3) and an aquatic plesiosaur (scale 6) appeared on both sides of the platform. **"PENDULUM SUMMON THE DINOMISTS ANKYLOS AND PTERAN."** With those scales the drone special summoned a mechanical ankylosaur(4/1500/2000) and ptera-jet(4/1800/1200). **"BATTLE. WHEN ANKYLOS IS ON THE FIELD, ALL MONSTERS DESTROYED BY BATTLING DINOMISTS ARE BANISHED."** The Pteranosaur robot soared towards August's set monster

"You think you can out out-calculate me, machine?" August flipped a continuous trap. "Imperial Iron Wall! Cards cannot be banished for as long as this trap exists!" His destroyed monster, a dragon(3/1400/1100) with exposed red flesh, was simply sent to the graveyard. Dinomist Ankylos could not send it anywhere else. "You were right to fear my Unmasked Dragon however! When it perishes, one wyrm with 1500 or less defense points is summoned from my deck!" A pair of royal eel wyrms(6/2000/1200) swam out of to the field in attack position. "I summon the Giant Pairfish!" Now Ankylos could not complete an attack either. **"RESOLVE THE EFFECT OF DINOMIST PTERAN. WHEN AN OPPOSING MONSTER IS DESTROYED BY IT, A DINOMIST CARD IS ADDED TO THE HAND."** The machine ignored the setback and took a Dinomist Eruption trap card from their deck. **"SET THREE CARDS IN SPELL/TRAP ZONE, END THE TURN."**

"Is that all you can say? Tcheh." August started his turn. "Giant Pairfish, summon Chiwen the Light of the Yang Zing!" The eel pair could special summon any level 4 or lower wyrm from the deck by discarding one monster (Bi'an, Earth of the Yang Zing) from August's hand. "You are not worth my time or my true power!" And August went with the tuner Chiwen(1/0/0). "Drown them in the darkness of their own sin, Yazi the Evil of the Yang Zing!" Chiwen and Giant Pairfish synchronized before the roaring duelist, and gave birth to the winged wyrm of corruption: Yazi(7/2600/2100). "Do those chants really help?" Even Uno found the practice a bit overdramatic. "Mock what you will! These are the texts by which they were originally summoned, before your kind erased them all!" August clenched his hand. "Water of the Yang Zing!" He normal summoned a Yangzing wyrm as well, the turtle elder Bixi(2/0/2000). "Be the sacrifice for the Evil one!" Yazi targeted Bixi and one of the opponent's cards at the same time, it could destroy them both with its effect.

 **"ACTIVATE THE PENDULUM EFFECT OF DINOMIST CERATOPS. REDIRECT DESTRUCTION TO THIS DINOMIST."** The machine was quicker on the draw. Dinomist Ceratops blocked Yazi's power and destroyed itself instead. "Ha." Nevertheless the destroyed Yanzging Bixi specialed summon a new Yangzing, Suanni of the Fire(1/1900/0), from August's deck. The enemy also activated some continuous effects though. **"ACTIVATE THE TRAP EXTRA BUCK. IT ADDS AN SPELLCOUNTER EACH TIME A PENDULUM MONSTER IS ADDED TO THE EXTRA DECK. AND ACTIVATE THE EFFECT OF DINOMIST CHARGE, WHEN A DINOMIST PENDULUM IS ADDED TO THE EXTRA DECK, SEND IT TO THE HAND."** With Ceratops destroyed and returned to the extra deck, one counter was placed on Extra Buck, while Ceratops itself moved on to the Templars hand. " **THEN ACTIVATE THE TRAP DINOMIST ERUPTION. DESTROY ONE CARD WHEN A DINOMIST IS DESTROYED."** The selfdestruction of Ceratops brought forth more destruction. Dinomist Eruption targeted the synchro monster. The Evil of the Yang Zing was caught by erupting lava and buried under it.

"Hmph! Chiwen may be reborn when one Yang Zing is destroyed! And when Yazi dies, he shall summon one wyrm from my deck, my Magma dragon!" With his monsters last power, August special summoned an eight-legged lava crawler dragon(4/1600/1200) while the Chiwen tuner reincarnated through its own effect. "Magma Dragon shall revive one effect-sealed wyrm when it is special summoned!" The Magma wyrm's back exploded like a volcano. "Bi'an of the Earth!" The molten stone solidified to form the tiger wyrm of the earth; Bi'an(3/1600/0). "Choke all enemies with the light from beyond their reach; Baxia, Brightness of the Zang Zing!" Chiwen tuned itself with Bi'an and the Magma Dragon, for a synchro monster of the eight level; the fierce lion dragon Baxia(8/2300/2600). "Obey my orders, Baxia! Burn his Dinomist cards!" Baxia could target and destroy a card for each different element its body was made from; Bians earth, Chiwens light and the Magma dragons fire. **"ACTIVATE THE PENDULUM EFFECT."** Unfortunately Dinomist Plesios had a defensive effect too. It destroyed itself to negate an effect that targeted other cards.

"Enough of this! Baxia, destroy Suanni!" August activated his synchro monster's second effect; sacrificing one monster to summon another lowlevel monster from the grave. Suanni was destroyed, and Bi'an was resummoned in attack mode. "Shadow of the Yang Zing!" The destruction of Suanni also activated its effect to special summon a Yang Zing monster from the deck; the shadow wyrm Tao'tie(5/2200/0) in this case. "And Light of the Yang Zing!" Also Chiwen resurrected itself through the death of Bixi. "Oh. Now I get why you're using Imperial Iron Wall. Clever." Chiwen normally banished itself after it used its summon effect once. But it could not be banished as long as that trap was around. "Save the Praise for those you damned!" August growled at Uno. "First I will vanquish this machine, than you!" He activated a field spell; Yang Zing Prana. A series of mountains covered the floor. "When there are two different elements of the Yang Zing in the grave, all my Yang Zing monsters gain 500 attack and defense points from this field!" Bixi's aquatic energy and Yazi's darkness flowed through the dales like rivers, strengthening his wyrm legion. "Destroy the Dinomists!" Tao'tie(2700/500) crushed Dinomist Pteran, Bi'an(2100/500) strangled Dinomist Ankylos to death and Baxia(2800/3100) blasted the templar directly. "That ends my turn!"

Templar M's LP: 3700

 **"BEGINNING TURN 04. ACTIVATE THE EFFECT OF EXTRA BUCK."** Four Dinomists had been moved from the field to the extra deck, the trap carried its maximum amount of 3 counters. **"SEND THIS CARD WITH THREE SPELLCOUNTERS TO THE GRAVEYARD, DRAW TWO CARDS."** Extra Buck fell apart, and handed the Templar some extra cards. **"ACTIVATE THE SPELL, DINOMIC POWERLOAD. ALL DINOMISTS GAIN 300 ATTACK AND DEFENSE POINTS. NO EFFECTS CAN BE ACTIVATED DURING A DINOMIST'S BATTLE. THEN SET THE SCALES."** The pendulum zones gained its new occupants, the recycled Dinomist Ceratops (scale 3) and Dinomist Brachion the longnecked mechasaur (scale 6). **"PENDULUM SUMMON."** Soon after, the field greeted Dinomist Pteran(4/2100/1500), Ankylos(4/1800/2300), Plesios(4/2000/1700) and a red frillbacked Spinosaur; Dinomist Spinos(5/2800/2100). **"DINOMIST PLESIOS DECREASES THE ATTACK OF ALL OPPOSING MONSTERS BY 100 FOR EACH CONTROLLED DINOMIST CARD."** With seven of them on its field, 700 attackpoints were deduced from Bi'an(1400/500), Taotie(2000/500) and Baxia(2100/3100).

"Then strike me! I do not fear you!" August might lose some monsters. But because Bi'an had also been used before as Baxia's synchro material, the Brightness Yang Zing could not be destroyed by any attacking monsters. The Templar knew this however. **"ACTIVATE EFFECT OF DINOMIST SPINOS. TRIBUTE ONE DINOMIST, TO ENABLE A DIRECT ATTACK OR TO ENABLE A DOUBLE ATTACK."** It instead sacrificed Dinomist Ankylos to Spinos to give it a direct attack ability. **"REACTIVATE DINOMIST CHARGE."** The sacrificed Ankylos went to the extra deck, was 'charged' back to the hand by the continuous spell, and then normal summoned to the field. **"TRIBUTE AGAIN."** Spinos sacrificed the same Ankylos and now it could attack twice in one turn. " **BEGINNING BATTLE PHASE. DINOMIST SPINOS ATTACK..."**

"Your little plan wont become a reality, Templar!" Though August could not activate effects during an attack, he could do it before. "I activate Taotie's effect to perform an instant synchro summon!" Taotie the Shadow wyrm tuned with Chiwen(1/0/500). "The Elements shall become one, and all will tremble! Synchro summon! Red Wyvern!" The eponymous red wyvern(6/1800/2000) flew in from the extra deck, with fire already gathered in its beak. "Red Wyvern will destroy your strongest monster during your turn!" The wyvern targeted Spinos. **"ACTIVATE CERATOPS EFFECT."** But once again the scale 3 Dinomist negated the destruction by destroying itself. "Grrr." Dinomist Spinos completed its double direct attack with its claws. "I did not feel a thing!" August did not move a muscle, even as claw marks were left on his body. " **PTERAN ATTACKS BI'AN, PLESIOS ATTACKS RED WYVERN."** The Pterasaur and Plesiosaur surged towards their own victims; the Water Yang Zing(1000/0) and Wyvern, killing them both. "Grh! Is that the best a machine can do?!"

August's LP: 1200

"August. This is getting too close! Just let me help you!" Uno came close to activating his dueldisk again. "Oof!" But August pushed him back. "Don't pretend to suddenly care, Tempus." He shouted while the templar ended its turn. "But I am asking for your help. I want to stop all of this! I want you to bring your allies so we can find a solution together!" None of this would make a difference if August was defeated again here and now. Perhaps that was why Marco had made sure the Templars would not obey the family anymore. "Now you change your tune? You could have stopped worlds ago! You could have stopped before you let my world come to ruin, my family, my true friends!" As August spoke, the mark of the dragon began to burn on his arms. "You have an infinite amount of souls on your conscience. It will take more than remorse to earn forgiveness!"

"My turn!. Baxia, you are no longer required!" Baxia's effect destroyed itself this time, but it still managed to revive one of the fallen wyrms. "Return, Magma Dragon, Light of the Yang Zing, Evil of the Yang Zing!" The Magma dragon(1000/1200) was reborn first, and Magma's effect reignited Yazi the vile Yangzing(2000/2100)'s spark of life. Last but not least was Chiwen the tuner, who followed the death of the Brightness Yangzing with its resurrection. "One more element, the Wind!" August then normal summoned Pulao the wind Yang Zing(1/0/2300). This was his final synchro material, it tuned itself with Yazi and Chiwen. "From darkness light can be born! From death comes new life! The Oceans, the skies and the mountains are our children! Synchro summon! Chaofeng, Phantom of the Yang Zing!" One green star and seven dark stars collided with the star of light, and created a magnificent green-scaled serpent dragon(9/2800/2300). This was the father of the nine Yang Zing.

"Fire, earth, water, wind, darkness and light; six attributes from the Yang Zing rest in the ground." The energy of Suanni, Bixi, Bi'an, Tao'tie and Chiwen flowed through the Prana ravines. "Yang Zing Prana awakens its final effect; destroying all cards on the field!" The ground cracked, split open by the elements. Magma Dragon fell deep into the earth, and so did the Dinomists of the land, sky and sea. Next came the spells and traps; Imperial Iron Wall, Dinomic Powerload, Dinomist Charge. Only the Phantom Yang Zing survived, due to the grace of Pulao. A synchro-material Wind Yangzing immunized the synchro monster against all spell effects. Chaofeng never gained any boosts from Yang Zing Prana, but could not be dragged down with it either. **"ACTIVATE THE TRAP CARD, EXTRA BARRIER. TARGET A PENDULUM MONSTER, THE MONSTER CANNOT BE DESTROYED."** Unfortunately the Templar had one last ace up its metaphorical sleeve. A special barrier targeted Dinomist Spinos(5/2500/1800) and made it similarly impervious to the prana purge.

 _Extra Barrier, Normal Trap  
_ _Target 1 face-up pendulum monster on the field. That monster cannot be destroyed as a result of battle or by card effect(s) this turn._

"That wont matter now! Chaofeng can summon one wyrm from my deck, when an opponents monster is claimed by death! It's element has to be the same as the destroyed card!" All the destroyed Dinomists were from the water-attribute, so water was the only option. "I choose Mare Mare!" He called out a fatherly seahorse wyrm(7/2100/1400). "Mare Mare is a tuner that can reduce its own level to create one token!" August activated this effect once, lowering the level of the Seahorse(6/2100/1400) to create one Mini Mare Mare token(1/300/200) that spawned from the eggs it carried. "Bloom here, watered by pale moonlight! Black Rose Moonlight Dragon!" And so he special summoned his Black Rose Dragon(7/2400/2000). "moonlight.." It began to dawn on Anastasia, just how old August was. "Moonlight Black Rose returns your special summoned monster back to your hand, Templar!" The synchro dragon released a storm of roses that covered the Dinomist Spinosaur. When the petals flew away again, the monster zone was empty. "You will not keep me bottled up here, any longer! Black Rose, Chaofeng, DIRECT ATTACK!" The wyrm phantom and rose dragon breathed black flames and ethereal energy at the templar. Their combined assault brought the machine's lifepoints down and made it crash against the floors.

Templar's LP: 0

"And that was that. Unless you are going to send more tin duelists to fight me." August kicked the drone, causing it to fall apart. "fighting is never what we wanted." Anastasia said. To show that she meant it, she took off her dueldisk and tossed it down. "Ana?" Uno was not sure how August would respond to this. "..Right." But a duel would not convince him at this point, and he had no other idea on how to stop a man who could just fly away if he wanted too. "Do what you want then, August." He discarded his dueldisk as well. "Do you take me for a fool?" August asked with clenched teeth. "No. All I am asking is for a little hope."

"This is laughable. After all these ages, you simply surrender? Why would I ever work with you?" Though his eyes were still burning with hatred, the duelist's stance was less tense than before. "The others haven't shown up yet. I figured we could help you find them, or let them find us. Somehow.. Oh, I know. Ana, do you still have Iria's pendulum?" His sister nodded and was already ahead of him. "this was yours." She tossed the crystal at August. "!? You.." He fit it into his armband. It was definitely his. "Where is the other?" His other armband was still missing one. "We gave it to a friend so he could stay close to his double in this timeline. I can give it back to you once I know everyone's safe." Uno promised. "... If this is a deception. Your heads will roll." For now the red duelist at least was humoring their offer. "But before we begin, you have to tell me everything.. Lord and Lady Tempus."

(To be Continued in Redux 035: En Passant)

 **New Cards used by August  
** Giant Pairfish  
Magma Dragon  
Mare Mare

-  
Chaofeng, Phantom of the Yang Zing

-  
Yang Zing Prana

-  
Imperial Iron Wall

 **Cards used by Templar Series D  
** Dinomist Pteran  
Dinomist Brachion  
Dinomist Plesios  
Dinomist Ankylos  
Dinomist Ceratops  
Dinomist Spinos  
Dinomist Stegosaurus

-  
Dinomist Charge  
Dinomic Powerload

-  
Extra Buck  
Dinomist Eruption  
 _Extra Barrier_


	56. En Passant

**Redux 35: En Passant**

This was where it all began. "what is... this place?" The lady Nisell did not recognize this old abandoned village on a mountain road. But August had said yes, and this was where he wanted them to go. "I see. Alice and Eric's hometown.. in the other timeline. This is where we entered this world... This is where I landed in the other world too." Uno also had an inkling of why August chose this place. "Because of you, and because and the girl who should not exist, this is a place the dimensions are fragile. The power and reach of the crystal should be amplified here." August pointed at his own pendulum and at theirs. "You're right. You think we can find Marco like this?" Uno felt a surge of energy just from one touch of the crystal. "It will be easier, but there is no guarantee. I have a better reason to be here." The red duelist slammed his hands together. "If we charge the pendulums here, it might give December, June and January a point to focus on. Your duel separated us. I do not know in which world or on which day they landed. They might not even be stuck in regular time anymore.." He shook his head. "There is no helping them if they ran into a guardian of time. But, if they are alive.. they _will_ find us."

 _..._

 _"Awgh..it's not even sunset yet."_ One pleasant awakening was inflicted upon Eric, courtesy of a loud buzzing noise. "The communicator?" If it were anything else, he would have ignored it. But this had to be important, so he forced himself out of his bed. "Em.. Amelia?" For a second he thought he was talking to the Emily he knew. But that wouldn't make any sense. "Stonewell? Is that you? You sound different.." The feeling was shared. "Oh... ehr no. I am Eric. You know, from the other world?" Eric was hoping that she at least knew that much. "Oh.. yeah.. I still can't believe all of that happened." He heard her sigh. "But listen, I don't know what time it is over there." The sun was still up at her place, he realized. That did not make Eric feel less grouchy. "But Stonewell gave me this communicator and said I had to use it if I got worried. And I am."

"Worried? What about?" Eric panicked. "About uhm.. him. Stonewell, I just wanted to know if he got back alright. I thought your friend Uno would come pick him up.. with that.. beaming-up trick or something. Except Stonewell said he had something to do, and he just walked away. I haven't seen him since. Do you know anything about that?" The answer was of course 'no'. But Eric didn't want to make her freak out too, after everything she had gone through. "I think he got back, at least that's what I heard. So don't worry about it!" So he lied. "Oh thank goodness." She breathed a sigh of relief, which he was glad to hear. "Just keep in touch, okay? I will tell you more later." He said with a yawn, which she heard. "Oh, okay! Yeah.. have a good night? Morning.. See ya!" She hung up. _"..Wow. Emily would never've fallen for that."_ Eric thought to himself, before he turned to the more pressing matters. _"Stonewell, what are you doing? Did something happen with your friends?"_

...

"Mister Adamant!" Shouted a palace guard as he entered the hallway. "Why the need for alarm?" The curious duelist responded. "It's your associate. The one who had yet to recover has finally done so and woken up. He claims to possess sensitive information that he does not want to share with anyone else but you. He is waiting for you at the infirmary." The guard explained. "I see. I thank you for notifying me." Adamant looked behind him. _"I should tell the others, but this cannot wait."_ Adamant understood why this man wanted to talk to him alone. He was a soldier from the XYZ-guild, he would not trust anyone else nor would he know that Adamant already left the guild. "I will go, but I want you to monitor this hall and call for me as soon as anything happens." Alice was sleeping again, and he did not want to disturb her anyway. "Of course." The guard nodded. "Good." Adamant then went on his way. It was not far from the infirmary. He took the stairs. A feeling inside him told him the elevators were not as safe as they used to be. Allthough he could also just have been getting paranoid. _"Tch, dont think about it."_

Yet, his fear might have been justified. He was only halfway down when...

"The XYZ-champion."

He heard a voice he did not think he could run into here. "Martel!?" It was the puppet master's voice. "Me." His announcement was paired with a sudden electric blackout, turning of all lights besides one. "I wanted to wait, but I couldn't. This was too great an opportunity." The last light came from Martels dueldisk as he stood at the bottom of the spiraling stairwell. "You could not have broken in, you.. teleported?" He knew Martel could teleport due to the footage of the duels on the island. Except Martel shouldn't have been able to get to the palace unless he knew what it looked like. "Yes, just like the Nisells." Still, that was what he was claiming. "How?" The world outside and the network owned no inside images of the palace. "Because I can see what my friends see." Martel smirked as he turned his back on Adamant. "And you will be my friend too. We have to be careful, while Lord Uno is out of the house." Right on his cue, another light pierced the shadows. This one came from above. "!" It was the palace guard from before, he aimed his dueldisk at Adamant.

Adamant's LP: 8000 Guard's LP: 8000

"A trap." The news about the infirmary was the bait, and he fell for it. Martel was playing to eliminate his enemies one by one. "Are traps all you know, Martel?" If only he could drag the puppetmaster into this duel as well. Unfortunately, Martel was already walking to the exit. "I will see you again soon, my new Knight." The 'king' left the stairwell, while his pawn took the first turn. "Tch." He'd been careless. The enemy normal summoned his monster. It was a young kid(4/900/400) in a rubber suit with electric hair and hands. "Brohunder? A thunder deck..." The effect of Brohunder allowed the duelist to add a thunder-type monster, Denko Sekka, from the deck to his hand. And then the opponent activated Ties of the Brethren. "!" It cost 2000 lifepoints to use this spell, which special summoned two monsters from the deck with the same level and type as one monster on the field. But no further attacks or special summons could be made this turn. The opponent special summoned Lightning Rod Lord the skeletal thundergod(4/1800/100) and Zap Mustung the electrical black horse(4/1600/1500). Lastly, he placed a card down in the spell/trap zone.

Guard's LP: 6000

 _"Damn."_ Adamant was in a bind. His moves were all sealed now because of these unconventional cards. Lightning Rod Lord stopped both players from activating any spells in his first main phase. Zap Mustung meanwhile made it so that players could only special summon as many times as they conducted a battle in a turn. And it could not be destroyed twice each battle anyway. "I set a monster, and two trap cards." His intended opening turn would have involved Raidraptor Last Strix and Rank-Up-Magic Astral Force, which could have let him rank up all the way to the Ultimate Falcon in the first turn. Instead he would need to rely on his trap cards. "Wait.." But before he ended his turn, the opponent activated a quick-play spell card. _"Quick Summon?!"_ It was an instant normal summoner card, and it summoned Denko Sekka the lightning-fast samurai(4/1700/1000) in snow-white armor. Her sword crackled with purple bolts, which streamed across the field _. "As long as the enemy controls no spells or traps, my set cards cannot be activated!"_ Even that was accounted for, Martel chose this opponent purposefully.

 _Quick Summon, Quick-Play Spell  
_ _Normal Summon 1 monster._

Pawn's LP: 8000

And this 'game' of his left nothing to chance either. _"Another?!"_ A second duelist wandered in through the same door Martel used before. _"Two opponents.."_ This was a woman in her 30s; she looked like Martel simply picked her up from the streets. But her cards were no less threatening. _"Machina Fortress."_ She already controlled the cannon-covered fortress machine(7/2500/1600) on her field, summoned by discarding a level 8 machine, Machina Megaform, from her hand. And the piercing spell Fairy Meteor Crush was equipped to it as well. _"Of course. She prepared her field out of range of us, so Zap Mustings effect would not hinder her."_ The puppets only played by whichever battle royal rules suited their ambushes. The silent woman activated another spell during her battle phase as well, Limiter Removal, to doubled the attackpoints of her Machina(5000/1600). Machina Fortress then aimed its cannons at Adamant's Raidraptor Last Strix(1/100/100) and rended it asunder with lasers that had the force of a meteor.

Adamant's LP: 3100

"Guh..." Her attack was done, and during her endphase Limiter Removal destroyed the monster it had affected. But with Machina Fortress' destruction, Machina Megaform could be special summoned from the graveyard. The Fortress transformed into its upright humanoid form(8/2600/1500) by banishing the original Fortress. During the next turn it could repeat the cycle by sacrificing itself for another Machina Fortress in the deck. _"This.."_ Not that it mattered, the guard retained the next attack and Adamant was without defenses. _"Is this how it ends for me? Alone in the shadows?"_ He could not save himself..

"Stop it!"

Alice's LP: 8000

"Alice?" But there she was, like an angel from above. "Two against one isn't fair! So it's my turn now!" She dove into the duel immediately and summoned the Great Sorcerer of the Nekroz(4/1500/1200). "Attack!" The Sorcerer targeted Denko Sekka and discarded Nekroz of Decisive Armor from her hand during the fight. The Decisive Armor's effect added 1000 attackpoints to the Sorcerer(2500/1200), allowing it to freeze the samurai's sword with ice magic and to shatter her body as well. "...You followed me?" She came from the same direction as him and the palace guard. "I'm sorry, Adamant. I heard talking, and I couldn't go back to sleep after that." She didn't really know what was going on and it took her a while to find him in this darkness. "Do not apologize. I am glad you did." Not only couldn't this have been timed better, she had assessed the situation from just one glance and taken down the biggest threat with her only attack. "Its Martel, he is here." Still, Adamant had to warn her. He did not know how safe they were here.

Guard's LP: 5200

"Martel? Then we have to tell the others!" Alas, this duel was far from over. "Ah.. I'll use Nekroz Cycle!" Now that Alice was finished one battle, Zap Mustung granted her one special summon. She used it up on a ritual spell, sacrificing the Great Sorcerer on her field and a Cyber Angel Benten in her hand to ritual summon Nekroz of Decisive Armor(10/3300/2300) from her graveyard. Thanks to the sacrificed Great Sorcerer, Alice could add a new Nekroz spellcaster to her hand, another Nekroz of Valkyrus. Thanks to the sacrificed Cyber Angel Benten, Alice could add a light-type fairy monster to her hand; Cyber Angel Dakini. "I set two traps.. or spells! And that uh.. ends my turn." Only now was she noticing it was a bit pointless to announce actions to people who would not speak for themselves.

The enemies weren't very interested in talking back either. The palace guard just drew his next card and summoned Pahunder(4/1300/600), the father of the electric family. His effect allowed the duelist to normal summon another Thunder monster from his hand, Mahunder the thunderfamily mother(4/1400/700). "His own game plan is working against him now." Adamant figured his opponent wanted to do something with all those materials. But at best he could just attack Adamant directly, and special summon something afterwards. Of course, all five of his monsters came after Adamant. "Oh no! No you wont!" Alice quickly discarded Nekroz of Valkyrus from her hand. "I can activate this card!" Valkyrus sacrificed itself and banished the Great Sorcerer of Nekroz, to end the battle phase before Mahunder could strike with her electric punches. "And since no battles were actually conducted.." The guard couldn't ask its own Zap Mustung monster to give it a special summon. So it switched Brohunder, Zap Mustung and Lightning Rod Lord to defense mode. If neither of them could find a way to destroy the latter two, they wouldn't get anywhere.

"My turn.." Adamant drew a monster, which was fortuitous on its own. "I normal summon the Raidraptor Fuzzy Lanius!" By bringing out the headfeathered purple lanius(4/500/1500), he reached the starting point for his trap. "Icarus Attack!" So he flipped it. "I use my own winged beast to destroy two cards you control!" Fuzzy Lanius flew up the stairs and dipped its body in liquid fire. It stopped flying to send its burning body crashing down into Zap Mustung and Lightning Rod Lord.

"Yeah! Oh, but wait.. now you have no monsters again." Alice gasped. "I am not one to just take satisfaction from an inch of progress. Because Fuzzy Lanius went to the graveyard, I can add a second Fuzzy Lanius to my hand, and.." Adamant activated his second trap: Call of the Haunted. "I revive the first from the ashes!" The trap special summoned Fuzzy Lanius from the graveyard in prime condition. "When I control a Raidraptor, Fuzzy lanius can be special summoned from the hand!" And with the Mustung horse destroyed, Adamant could special summon the second Fuzzy Lanius(4/500/1500) and as many other Raidraptors as he wished. "Raidraptor Force Strix!" At last, his monsters were overlayed. He XYZ-summoned his metal owl Force Strix(4/0/2000) "But make no mistake. I would not have survived, without you. Alice, it seems fate smiles kindly upon me, through you." Adamant could activate spells again too. So he used Raidraptor Astral Force to evolve his monster up by two ranks. "XYZ-summon! Revolution Falcon!" The fiery Falcon let out a cry of war as its body came into existence. Revolution Falcon(6/2000/3000) ascended the spiral and loomed over the opposing forces.

"Adamant, you're not gonna hurt them too much are you?" Alice was impressed and concerned at the same time. "Normally I would not bother with a higher power for the likes of them. However, we need to be fast, so I will have to maximize my damage output!" Adamant activated Rank-Up-spell: Revolution Force as well. "XYZ-summon!" During this turn he could add another rank to Revolution Falcon. "Ah!? That's.." The XYZ-warbird transformed into a large winged carrier raptor(7/2500/2000). "Yes, the Falcon I intended to summon against you when we dueled, Alice. Raidraptor Arsenal Falcon! If raidraptors are attached to this XYZ-monster, he gains one attack for each overlayed XYZ-material!" The two Fuzzy Raidraptors, Force Strix and Revolution Falcon loaded themselves into the wings of the Arsenal machine. "Then I activate the spell card, Stoic Challenge! An XYZ-monster gains 600 attackpoints for each of its XYZ-materials!" He took a page from Roma's book of XYZ-tactics and equipped this spell to Raidraptor Arsenal Falcon(4900/1000). The equipped monster could not activate its effects anymore now, but it didn't need to.

"This is it, Alice.. and pawns of Martel." He moved to his battle phase. "With Stoic Challenge, Arsenal Falcon inflicts double battle damage to monsters!" The Falcon rose to the top of the stairwell, and launched its final attack from there. "Qaudruple strike! Its Raidraptor materials flew down and obliterated Mahunder and Pahunder, inflicting over 10000 damage to the guard. The third attack destroyed Machina Megaforce and delivered 4600 points of battle damage. The fourth attack hit the machina woman directly. "..." Even in defeat, the puppets uttered no screams and they collapsed on the spot.

Pawn and Guard's LP: 0

"They're out." Adamant checked the woman as he descended the stairs. "Do we.. do we just leave them here?" The palace guard was asleep it seemed, she could still hear him breathing. "They can't have been under Martel's control for too long, they should recover faster than the others." Adamant reasoned, even if there was usually little rhyme or reason to the after-effects. "Then.. where is Martel?! Can we stop him before he gets to anyone else!?" She yelled. "No. Chasing him would be unwise." Adamant stared down at his dueldisk. The lifepoint meter was not resetting. "Now that we've entered his game, we cannot leave it. We do not know how many Martel has taken over already. They could be anyone, we cannot trust the people we see." The palace guard talked to Adamant before, Martels puppets could hide in plain sight like any normal person and they wouldn't even be aware of his 'pulling their strings'. "Oh no.. dad! Eric!" Alice rushed back up. "Alice, wait! We should at least stay together! Do you still have the crystal?" If she could teleport them to the court, they could give out a city-wide warning right away. "No. Anastasia took it back.. that's why we should get Eric! He has a pendulum crystal too!"

"Okay. We will go to him, but we must proceed with caution." He did not know what waited for them out there. He only knew one thing, they had to stop this madness before it spread too far and turned into an actual war.

...

While all that was going up above, Iria was on her way to the templar control area. She figured there could be something she could do to counteract her counterpart's hold on the network. That was when she got intercepted by an unlikely person. "Gaaah!" It was a scream, a familiar one. "Stonewell?" It sounded like Eric, or Stonewell. But if it was the latter, when did he return? Stonewell was supposed to be on the other side of the world. "What happened?" She rushed over to to the source of the sounds, into one of the palace's many art galleries. "Stonewell?" It was him! She saw him lying down on the floor with his face away from her. "Security! We.." Before she could cry out for help, the door closed behind her and her dueldisk was switched to active mode. "What?" It was a trap for her now, set by this man in a business suit who came in. He did not have the appearance of someone who belonged her at all. "What is this?"

"Silver!" Fortunately, she would not have to face this threat alone. "Creffield, sir?" Zach and Dom rushed into the gallery through the other entrance, passing along the unconscious Stonewell to stand by Iria's side. "We heard Stonewell shout! And now my disk is acting not like it should! Just what's the deal here?" Dom did not get this scene at all. "It's Martel.." Zach only understood one thing, the reason why this silent man was staring at them with lifeless eyes "Martel.. It's an ambush, and _he'_ s part of it." Iria stared at Stonewell, who'd suddenly gotten up, showing no signs of injury at all. "You're one of his puppets now." She concluded, while his frown turned into a nasty smirk...

(To be Continued in Redux 034: Never Too Young)

 **New Cards used by Adamant  
** Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon

-  
Stoic Challenge

 **Cards used by Palace Guard Pawn  
** Brohunder  
Lightning Rod Lord  
Zap Mustung  
Denko Sekka  
Mahunder  
Pahunder

-  
Ties of the Brethren  
 _Quick Summon_

 **Cards used by Pawn 2  
** Machina Fortress  
Machina Megaform

-  
Limiter Removal  
Fairy Meteor Crush


	57. Never Too Young

**Redux 34: Never Too Young**

"we see." Anastasia nodded. She, Uno and August raised their pendulums. "Two." It did not take long for August to get a sense of something. "You were not lying, when you said there were only no other pendulum crystals in this world besides ours?" He asked them sternly. "No. Its just ours.. Marco's and your pair.. The second should be at the city." Uno was starting to feel it too. "But.." There was more than one power on the horizon. ".. this is not Marco's." Lady Nisell was familiar with the power of her brother, she would know if it was his pendulum. "There are two crystals back there.. it looks like you forgot to mention someone. Tell me! Are you truly the only ones Tempus 'adopted'?" August asked with a roar. "there.. there were others.. before me. father said. but they went away, they were 'destroyed' by the guardians of time. their crystals always passed on to the next. father had four of them, except the fourth.. should not be here..."

...

"Looks like my trap was a little too loud." Stonewell wanted to catch Iria alone, he did not think he would attracted the attention of these other two as well. If he dueled them now, he would be outnumbered three to two. And those were not the kind of odds he felt like risking his lifepoints against. "You lucked out this time." He turned his back on the disciples and ran away through the door that Zach and Dom used earlier. "Wait!" Zach futily called out after him. "I still don't really get what is going on?" He did not understand. "There's a man named Martel who can control people, sir. He's from the fusion guild." Zach explained. Though there were still unanswered questions here. If this was Martels doing, why did Stonewell sound nothing like he expected. "It's an invasion, he might be calling for reinforcements. We have to get out."

"Allright. You take a look at the doors. I will handle this poor fellow here" Dom was the first to drew his cards. "No, sir, let us help." Due to the nature of Martels puppet games, they were all technically dueling. "Hold that thought, Iria. It's just one of them." Dom declined her offer for now though. "He's right, Silver. If you.. we.. enter this duel now, we'll leave ourselves open for an ambush. We wont regain any lifepoints if we duel needlessly." Zach expected more puppets to strike at any moment. "Creffield?" Iria was a little surprised to see him act so cautious. It was not like him. "I am sorry, sir." But the fact that his dueldisk was not activated showed that he was reluctant to duel. "That's okay, Zachary. I can't expect you to do all the work."

Dom's LP: 8000 Rook's LP: 8000

The rook placed a trap card and normal summoned a half-crow/half-man assassin(4/0/0) in midnight blue. "Shinobird Shinobigarasu? Did we print that already?" Dom recognized it from the release schedule. "This world is a bit ahead of ours, sir." Cards like this and Performapals were already as common as dirt now. "Well, Shinobirds are spirit monsters, so.." Normal and flip summoned spirits always retreated at the end of the turn. But the voiceless duelist activated two spell cards: Divine Wind of the Mist Valley and Shinobird Powerspot. "Oh boy." Both spells were triggered by monsters going back to a players hand, once each turn. When Shinobigarasu left the field, Powerspot searched the deck for new Ritual spells or Spirit monsters. The man added a Shinobird Calling spell card to his hand. "And the field spell.." Divine Wind of Mist Valley special summoned a level 4 or lower wind monster from the deck each time. Spirits could not be special summoned, but this duelist chose something else; a white-winged harpie(4/1200/1000) with long blonde hair. "Harpie Dancer?"

"Wind.." Zach was more concerned by the attribute than the cards. "This is one of Martels replacements, a new elemental for the one he lost." Light, fire, wind, water and earth; the puppetmaster always traveled with at least one of those decktypes around him. "Well don't worry Zachary, I'll free this guy in a jiffy." Doms turn began and he summoned a toddler-aged earth magician(1/400/400) in pink. "Say hello to Berry Magician Girl, when she.." Before he could finish the lecture her effect was shut down by the opponent activating Harpie's Feather Storm. "Hm?" The Storm trap would negate all monsters effects this turn, because the opponent controlled a wind winged beast. "Okay, it might take more than one jiffy." Dom shook his head and set a card in the spell/trap zone.

The rook took his turn and resummoned the Shinobigarasu(4/500/500) in his hand. Thanks to Shinobi Powerspot, all spirit monsters like it were given 500 more attack and defense points. Shinobigarasu used its own effect now too. It discarded a Shinobaron Peacock card, which gave that baron monster's 3000 attackpoints to the crow assassin(3500/500). "Well here comes the attack.." The main phase ended, the enemy moved and attacked with Harpie Dancer. "Sir!" Iria cried out once more. "I told you, I will be fine. New deck or old deck, I wouldn't be the cardmaker if I didn't know all the tricks!" Dom activated the effect of his attacked magician. "Berry Magician Girl switches herself to defense mode when she's attacked, and then she special summons one Magician Girl from my deck!" The infant mage waved her wand and created a puff of pink smoke. "Say hello to Apple Magician Girl!" An older red-armored magician girl(3/1200/800) with short black hair and pink wings emerged from the smoke. The rook payed her no attention and continued his attack, crushing the now defending Berry girl with its talons.

"Not a fan then?" Dom grinned as Shinobigarasu came after the Magician in red. "Ah, but.. you'll love this one! When Apple Magician Girl is attacked, she can summon a Magician Girl from my hand and point the attack towards the newcomer!" Apple Magician Girl raised her staff and targeted one card in Doms hand. "Chocolate Magician Girl!" Now came a girl(4/1600/1000) with long seablue hair and batwings. "And your monsters attack is halved too!" The fire mage threw a quick fireball at the attacking Shinobird(1750/500), weakening it. "But..Chocolate Magician Girl has her own power too! When she's attacked, she summons one Magician Girl from the graveyard!" The aquatic mage dipped her staff into the ground and caused a geyser of water to burst upwards. Berry Magician Girl was summoned back in attack position. "Your attack is redirected to her, and your monsters attackpoints are halved again!" Chocolate Magician Girl splashed Shinobigarasu(875/500) with another waterburst. "And of course, since she left the field. Berry Magician can reuse her own power!" The berry girl switched herself to defense mode. "I special summon the Dark Magician Girl!" The original apprentice of black magic(6/2000/1700) made her grand entrance. Regardless, the weakened ShinobiGarasu kept going and killed Berry Magician Girl.

"See, Iria? I'm doing all right!" Dom gloated. "Apparently, sir. But dont forget that he still has all of his cards." Regardless of what he said, Iria was going to jump in if there were any signs of trouble. "Right, I know Harpie Dancer enough. It does that 'bounce one wind monster to get a second wind monster normal summon' thing." Dom watched his opponent activate the Dancers effect on Shinobigarasu, returning the crow to his hand and normal summoning a new Shinobird, Kannagizuru the white-winged crane archer(4/2000/2000). Afterwards the effects of his spells followed and targeted two cards in the deck. The Shinobaron Peacock spirit monster was added by Shinobi Powerspot and the harp playing Harpie Harpist(4/1700/600) was special summoned by the Mist Valley field. "..." The duelist activated Shinobird Calling, which allowed him to sacrifice Spirits from the graveyard as well as monsters on the field, to ritual summon the Shinobirds rulers. "Here he goes." Shinobigarasu was tributed from the hand along with the Harpie Harpist. It was time for the Shinobaron Peacock, the baron swordsman(8/3500/3000) in robes of white and blue peacock feathers, to shine.

"So much for my girls." Shinobarons effect forced up to three monsters off the field. The Apple, Chocolate and Dark Magician Girls flew back to Dom's hand. "Man this guy knows what he is doing." Kannagizuru responded to a spirit monster's summon each turn with a drawing effect, one card was drawn after the Baron made his entry. Then the rook placed another trap card down and ended the turn. Kannagizuru and Shinobaron Peacock returned to the hand. But as the ritual monster returned by its own effect, it left two three-tailfeather shinobird tokens(1/0/0) behind in defense mode. Special summoned spirits could stay on the field, so Kannagizuru did not go anywhere either. Lastly, Harpie Harpist could add one level 4 or lower wind monster to a players hand during the endphase of a turn in which it was sent to the graveyard. Shinobird Tsutabaeto was the target in this case. "I know what he is feeling, sir. If its anything like me.. he knows what he is doing and he may even realize that its really happening, but cannot stop it. It's.." Zach saw his own hand tremble.

"Zachary, you were like this too?" This was the first time Dom heard of that. "This Martel, where is he anyway? How can he boss around people without even seeing them?" He felt anger rise inside. "He does not have to be. He can hear and see what we hear and see." ZXach explained. "Is that so? Then hear this, Martel! Nobody takes my companions away and gets away with it! And to make someone afraid of dueling. That's perhaps the worst crime of all. My turn!" Dom drew a card. "I summon Chocolate Magician Girl! Once a turn, she can discard one Magician Girl, to draw a card!" The water-mage discarded Dark Magician Girl from his hand. "And I can get that discard back, with Dark Magic Veil!" A hexagram seal glowed on the monster zone besides the Chocolate Girl. "I pay 1000 lifepoints to special summon a dark spellcaster from the graveyard, Dark Magician Girl!" The apprentice of the dark flew out of the circle. "Sir I have been meaning to ask, who are you explaining all these effects too?" Iria inquired. "Oh. Old habits dont die young, Iria." Dom knew it was pointless, but he wasn't going to quit now.

Dom's LP: 7000

"Now I can activate Dark Burning Attack! When I activate this spell, Dark Magician Girl can destroy all face-up monsters on the field at once!" The Dark Girl created a crackling ball of black magic at the tip of its wand and hurled it down to the other field like a comet. It impacted with Harpie Dancer, the Shinobird tokens and Shinogarasu, destroying them all. "And now some direct attacks!" The two Magician Girls fired their spells of darkness and water. "!?" But the enemy countered with Shinobird Healing. "Oh, right!" It was a continuous trap that and ended battle phases by banishing spirits from the graveyard. Shinobigarasu was removed, so that the two magic attacks fizzled out. "Of course we gave the spirit archetype a trap that defends against direct attacks." Dom snapped his fingers. "Hrm, one more round should do it. I end my turn!"

The enemy normal summoned Shinobird Kannagizuru again and then activated the spell card; Shinobird Calling. "He had another one?" The ritual spell banished the first Baron from the graveyard, the one that Shinogarasu had used as a powersource last turn, to ritual summon the second Baron back to the field. "Creative he isn't." Dom murmured as the Peacock Barons fieldwiping effect reactivated; sending Dark Magician Girl, Chocolate Magician Girl and Berry Magician Girl back to the cardmakers hand. "And I guess now he.." With this effect succesful, the ritual baron could special summon one spirit monster from the users hand, ignoring the usual restrictions on spirit monsters. Shinobird Tsutaebato the pigeon scholar(4/1500/2300) was summoned in attack position. "Is going to summon him." Shinobird Kannagizura's effect reactivated, drawing one more card. "And then he'll return the Ritual Baron." Tsutaebato's effect made one spirit leave the field before the end of the turn. It used this power on Shinobaron. "So that his spells can reactivate.." Shinobird Powerspot placed the third Shinobird Calling spell in the rook's hand. Divine Wind of the Mist Valley special summoned a second Harpie Harpist(4/1700/600). "I am beginning to see what kind of duels you two had to go through."

And the worst was yet to come, as the card drawn through Kannagizuru was.. another ritual monster. "Master!" Zach called out as the rook activated the last of the ritual spells. Shinobird Calling sacrificed the Baron in the hand, to call forth Shinobaroness Peacock(8/3000/3500) the princess in purple feathers. "If that card hits the field, she will.." The Baroness returned spells and traps as opposed to her male partner, and she would then summon a spirit monster from the deck. "Aha!" But, it could only get this effect off, if it actually returned something. "I activate Dark Magic Inheritance! Two spells are banished, and one support spell for a Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl will wind up in my hand!" He used the spell before it could be affected by the Baroness; banishing Dark Burning Attack and Dark Magic Veil to take a Dark Magical Circle spell from his deck. "But sir, you're still.." Though the princess failed to summon a new servant, the rook had more than enough attackpoints gathered to erase Doms life.

"Au contraire! See, when I activate a spell or trap outside my turn..." Dom placed a monster on his field in defense mode; a mage of shadows(7/2100/2500). "The Magician of Dark Illusion?" Iria remembered that card, it could summon himself thanks to the ambient magic left behind by Dark Magic Inheritance. "I accounted for direct attacks too, Zachary! Like I said, Uno's not the only one to make up cards!" Shinobaroness was the only one who could overpower its defense. She raised a storm with a snap of her fan and tore the Illusionist to pieces with her feathers. "Yikes!" Afterwards Harpie Harpist, Kannagizuru and Tsutaebato attacked Dom directly with talons and wings. "Master Dom!" He survived the attacks, but due to the nature of the monsters he was left with bloody cuts across his arms. "Why do you put yourself through this? I don't understand!" Iria cursed. "Because.. I gotta learn to stand on my own two feet as well. I am a companyman but also a duelist, Iria."

Dom's LP: 1800

During the endphase, Shinobird Kannagizuru and Shinobaroness Peacock returned to the rook's hand. But like the Baron, the Baroness could create two shinobird tokens(1/0/0) to defend her master. "You know, this duel feels symbolic somehow. Almost like UNO knew I would have this duel one day." Dom drew his next card and chuckled. "But he'd get it better than me. I'm not that well versed in mythology, all I know is.. how to dazzle the crowd! I activate Dark Magical Circle to look at the top three cards of my deck! If there's any dark magician cards or supporters among them.." The deck was excavated, revealing three cards (Dark Magic Curtain, Chicken Game, Legion Fiend Jester). "It will be mine!" Dom took the Dark Magic Curtain spell. "I activate this!" The curtain fell over the field. "Now one Dark Magician is summoned from my deck!" When the red curtain pulled back, it revealed the Dark Magician(7/2500/2100) in all his glory. "And Dark Magical Circle banishes one card, when Dark Magician is summoned. Ergo.." With the power of the circle, the black magician banished the trap Shinobird Healing.

Dom's LP: 900

"Now, I set the pendulums, Dragonpit and Dragonpulse Magician!" His last drawphase completed this pair. Dom placed the scale 1 sorceress on his right and the scale 8 warlock on the left. "Pendulum summon! Go, Apple, Dark, Chocolate and Lemon Magician Girl!" The three girls from before showed up along with a longhaired blonde(2/800/600) in stockings and yellow armor. "Lemon Magician Girl can trade one Magician Girl on the field for one in my deck!" The magician girl of light tributed the Apple girl, and placed a second Berry Magician Girl in Doms hand.

"Now you stopped me last time, probably because you don't like speeches." Dom normal summoned the new Berry Girl(1/400/400). "But here she is again! Berry finds a Magician Girl for me, when she is normal summoned like just now!" It was time for the final link of the 'black' fivesome. "I take Kiwi Magician Girl! I can discard her from my hand, and all Magician Girls will get 300 attackpoints for each Magician Girl, in my graveyard or on the field!" The discarded mage of wind empowered the remaining magicians with the elements of fire, water, wind, earth, darkness and light; giving them all 1800 attackpoints. "Incredible!" Zach was amazed. "We should have expected nothing less." Iria figured the duel as almost sealed. Dom only needed one more edge. "Go my magicians, attack!" Whether he had it or not, he was moving on. Berry(2200/400) and Lemon Magician Girl(2600/600) destroyed the two shinobird tokens, Chocolate Magician Girl(3400/1000) drowned Shinobird Tsutaebato in a bubble of water. And the Dark Magician Girl(3800/1700) destroyed Harpie Harpist.

Rook's LP: 4000

"Sorry my disciples. The finisher will have to be done by the teacher and not the apprentice." Dark Magician prepared its own attack. "But.. he wont do it alone! I discard Apprentice Illusion Magician from my hand!" Suddenly the spirit of another girl appeared at his side, she looked like the Dark Magician Girl, if only more tanned and with armor in a shade of purple. "She's the original magician girl, the Illusionist's apprentice. When a spellcaster of the darkness attacks, she can add 2000 attackpoints to that monster!" The apprentice's spirit added her power to the spell and doubled its size. "Direct attack!" With this new power, the Dark Magician(4500/2100) struck, sending the black bolts down uon the Rook like unholy thunder.

Rook's LP: 0

"Well, that worked out alright. Messed up my clothes though. How's the door?" Dom moaned as he inspected his coat. "I opened those a while ago. What about the injuries sir? Do you need a medic?" Iria was more concerned with the cuts. "Ah its nothing. You should see the other guy." Doms opponent lay there in a smoldering crater, his clothes singed. "It had to be done." Zach shook his head. "I know how it feels, Zachary. We'll drag him to the infirmary. But there have to be more where those came from, so stay on your toes. We're cardmakers, lets not become cards again ourselves!"

...

Not far from them, in a dark corner of the palace; a knight joined a queen and king. "I couldn't do it, there were too many of them. Forgive me." Stonewell bowed before Martel while the silent duelist Tara kept watch. "This was expected. These sufferers of 'friendship' always swarm together like ants." Martel scoffed. "I lost more than I gained, I lost my new Rook. It's time to change the rules." He said as he rubbed the strange doll in his arms. He then gave Tara a nod. "My Knight, use this." The queen took out a special dueldisk and gave it to Stonewell. "What is this?" It was a model not familiar to him or his world. "Something that will keep others from interfering, while you make new pawns. I will let you decide who to target." Stonewell looked up and smiled. "I know who I want to give to you."

(To be Continued in Redux 034: The Worst in Each Other)

 **New Cards used by Dom  
** Berry Magician Girl  
Apple Magician Girl  
Chocolate Magician Girl  
Lemon Magician Girl  
Kiwi Magician Girl  
Apprentice Illusion Magician

-  
Dark Magic Veil  
Dark Burning Attack  
Dark Magic Curtain

 **Cards used by Rook  
** Shinobird Shinobigarasu  
Harpie Dancer  
Shinobird Kannagizuru  
Harpie Harpist  
Shinobaron Peacock  
Shinobird Tsutabaeto  
Shinobaroness Peacock

-  
Divine Wind of the Mist Valley  
Shinobird Powerspot  
Shinobird Calling

-  
Harpie's Feather Storm  
Shinobird Healing


	58. The Worst in Each Other

**Redux 33: The Worst in Each Other**

"Eric! Thank goodness we found you!" It took a while but Alice and Adamant inevitably ran into Eric. "Why weren't you in your room? I thought you we were too late" They found him back at the dining hall. "What's with all the yelling?" And Eric had Tory for company as well. "Alice? Adamant? What's going on? You thought you were too late for what?" Neither of them seemed to be aware of any dangers. "It's Martel! He's here!" Alice cried out. "What?! How? Who the hell let him in?" Eric shouted back. "Martel? You mean the freaky puppet guy?" Tory got that story from Stonewell before and it did not sound pleasant then. "Yeah! That one! He's sneaking about and turning people into his puppets. We gotta tell everybody while we can! Eric, do you still have the pendulum?!" Alice was the only one who could actually use it and she hoped he had it here. "Oh yeah, of course. I wouldn't leave that lying around in my room." Eric rummaged through his pockets to look for it. "Ergh, stuck it in there deep. Got it!" He janked it out, and immediately it flashed a light in his face. "Gah! Why?" It was reacting.. "Eric, behind you!"

Stonewell's LP: 8000

"Too late, Adamant." The pendulum reacted because two Erics were standing in the same room. "Eric?" The one who was Tory's friend appeared exhausted and bewildered. "Not you." Stonewell brushed 'his friend' off and activated his dueldisk. "!?" That disk formed several forcefields which trapped the duelists inside the room. "Oye!? What's the big idea, Stonewell?" Eric and Stonewell themselves were separated from the rest, their dueldisks connected through a challenge. "Because, Martel demands it." Stonewell declared coldly. "He's under his control?" Alice gasped. "You were the one that got him inside." Adamant grunted. Stonewell knew what the inside of the palace looked like and Martel could see what his puppets saw. "So that was why you were gone for so long?" The only reason Tory was here was so Eric wanting to tell about Amelia's phonecall. The truth was worse than what she could have imagined. "He came to me, just after I dropped off Amelia, to collect his new Knight. I was already _his_ long before that."

"Tch. The king and queen defeated you back in the tunnels." Adamant realized. He should have kept a closer eye on him. "But you're still you aren't you? Can't you fight back?" Alice thought that if Stonewell could talk then he could also be reasoned with. "There's no fighting when I don't want to fight. I am in control, while Martel is my king. No-one else will make me feel right again." Stonewell drew five cards. "This sounds too familiar." Eric winced. Stonewell was as much in denial as he'd been when Martel and Phoebe used him as a pawn. "So Martel just replaced me with you huh?" The only cure was a dueling defeat. Eric started drawing cards as well. "For now. But I told him I would bring you all into the fold as well. I need to show you, how much better it is to follow him!"

Eric's LP: 8000

"Bring it!" Eric took the first turn. "Okay. Hang on guys, I don't know how long this will take!" He placed a trap card down and summoned the eyepatch-wearing kuriboh Kuribandit(3/1000/700). "Kuribandit can sacrifice himself!" The bandit shattered into shards. "During the end of the turn, Kuribandit will show five cards from the deck and send them to the grave!" The top five of his deck was excavated, revealing the Infernoids Sjette, Patrulea, Pirmais and Harmadik, along with a Void Purification trap card. "But I can keep one if its a spell or trap!" Eric took that trap while he sent the Infernoids to the graveyard. "Hey! You left yourself wide open!" Tory roared. "Yeah I know that! I also know what I'm doing! Not every duel I start ends with me losing!"

"They haven't, thanks to the help of others." Stonewell glared at Alice. "Me? But you helped him too!" She protested, reminding him of the templar tagteam duel. "And I will do that again, once he has returned. After all, we need to be of one mind." The 'Knight' began his turn and activated the spell: Summoners Art. "I add one level 5 or higher normal monster to my hand." The spell claimed an Igknight Cavalier. "...But I know you too well, Eric. Because I am you. You didn't _really_ leave yourself defenseless." Instead of going for an igknight pendulum summon swarm, Stonewell merely normal summoned Igknight Crusader(3/1600/300) and attacked Eric directly with it. "Oh, fine!" Eric flipped his trap anyway. "Blazing Mirror Force!" All attacking monsters would be destroyed and both duelists would lose lifepoints equal to the victims attackpoints. "Oof!" Igknight Crusader blew up and Eric took the reflected blaze first. Then the flames reached Stonewell and knocked him to the ground as well. "Guh, you idiot! That just hurt you both! What were you gonna do if he summoned enough monsters to take out all of your lifepoints!" Tory couldn't help but yell at them both. They looked the same right now anyway, with their faces to the ground.

Eric's LP: 6400 Stonewell's LP: 6400

"Same damn thing." Eric crawled back up. His opponent got up at the same time. "Of course. It would not be suicide when this is just one game in Martels entire battle royal. The duels wouldn't cease with your defeat." Stonewell would lose his lifepoints the very next second. "Oh.. but Eric. You gotta be more careful than that!" Even if ties counted, Alice did not like those kinds of plans. "Yeah alright." Eric grumbled. Taking this damage was painful enough in itself. "At least I took away his defenses now!" Eric happily took his second turn. All Stonewell did after the Blazing explosion was setting one trap, and Eric was not going to be intimidated by that. "Infernoid Belphegor!" He banished the Infernoids Harmadik and Patrulea from his graveyard to revive the winged hellprince Sjette(6/2400/0). "Don't be confused just because he looks like me, hit Stonewell with all you got!" He ordered a direct attack. "Ragh!" Infernoid Sjette slashed Stonewell's side with his iron claws. "Ergh." Eric swore he could feel the hit himself. It was odd to duel your own reflection. "When Sjette inflicts damage, you have to banish one card from your extra deck. The..."

Stonewell's LP: 4000

"The only..wait a second." Eric was sure Stonewell only kept pendulums in his deck. The only card in the extra deck should have been Igknight Crusader. "What are those?" Yet there was a whole stack of cards in there, all face-down. "Stonewell? Since when did you have extra deck monsters?" It did not matter whether they were Fusions, synchros or XYZs; Tory never saw Stonewell use any of those. "To become the new Knight, I had to improve myself. I am not part of any collection, I am a member of his guild." Stonewell spoke with pride as he gave up one of the hidden monsters to the banishing effect of Sjette. "Stonewell.." Tory couldn't believe her ears. "Bah." Eric set another card in the spell/trap zone and let his turn end. "I activate Void Purification!" During Stonewells standby phase, he could activate that continuous trap. "When your turn begins, I get an Infernoid from my graveyard!" He used that effect to move Infernoid Pirmais from the graveyard to his hand.

"Are you done? Then it's my turn! I set the scales!" Stonewell activated the pendulum monsters Igknight Cavalier and Igknight Squire. "Destroy!" The Cavalier shot the Squire and vice-versa. The two pendulums died to the crossfire and used their remaining power to draw another Igknight from Stonewells deck. "And now, Igknight Squire and Dragoons of Draconia!" Igknight Veteran (scale 7), the added longswordsman, was placed on the left side. Dragoons of Draconia, a raptor riding swordsman (scale 2), hit the left pendulum zone. "I Pendulum Summon Igknight Cavalier, Igknight Squire and Igknight Crusader!" All the knights destroyed so far returned to the field, the Squire(3/0/2000) in defense mode, Crusader and Cavalier(6/2400/1200) in attack mode. "Attack!" Cavalier led a different kind of kamikaze charge, from the monster zone. It threw its grenades at Infernoid Sjette. The equally strong demon could counterattack and crushed Cavalier with its tail. "And again!" Igknight Crusader then finally scored a direct hit against Eric with his sword. "Yeowh!" Even though it was a shallow cut on the cheek, Eric lost first blood.

Eric's LP: 4800

"And now we're even." Stonewell chuckled dryly. "You're the least even with me ever!" Eric cursed. "What is that supposed to mean?" Tory griped. "You didn't notice? He's not using his nicknames for his cards anymore. That just proves that his mind is messed up!" Eric did not have that many shared traits with Stonewell, but giving cooler names to his cards was at least one of them. "Because I have grown, Eric. I discarded childish habits.. Do you need proof, Eric? I will give it to you!" Eric activated the effect of the Draconian pendulum. "When a normal monster inflicts damage, Dragoons of Draconia adds a normal monster to my hand!" After the Crusader's direct attack, Stonewell took a new normal pendulum monster from the deck. "Metalfoes Steelen?" And while this card carried the fire element, it was not an Igknight. It was another card Adamant could not claim familiarity with. "I summon this card!" Stonewell used his normal summon of the turn to bring the Metalfoes to the field. Steelen(2/0/2100) was a blue-haired biker in black and red gear, wielding a flaming sword. "And I activate the spell, Metalfoes Fusion!"

"Fusion!? Oh no!" As Alice and the others already feared, fusions were the cards infesting Stonewells extra deck. "By fusing one Metalfoes monster with two monsters that have 3000 attackpoints or less, I can create Metalfoes Crimsonite!" Steelen and the two igknights vanished as they dove into a fusing vortex of flames. The spell combined the trio to create another Metalfoes pilot(9/3000/3000), riding a red fire-powered mechasuit. "Also, I can return Metalfoes Fusion from my graveyard to my deck, to draw one card." Stonewell shuffled the normal spell into the deck to gain something new from the deck. "So, what are you going to do to overcome this, Eric?" He placed a trap card down and passed the turn back to his counterpart.

"You have to ask? I thought you knew me!" Eric drew his next monster; Infernoid Attondel _. "I knew you'd never let me down."_ During his standby phase, Void Purification contained a different power. It purified the next dimension by returning one banished Infernoid to the graveyeard. Eric unbanished Infernoid Harmadik. "I summon Infernoid Adramelech!" Infernoid Sjette and Infernoid Harmadik were banished from his graveyard as meals for the great duke(8/2800/0) of hell. "And I activate my spell, Burial from another Dimension to unbanish three monsters!" Infernoid Sjette, Harmadik and Patrulea were 'buried' back in their normal graves. "Heh, I banish two of them to summon Infernoid Belphegor again!" The dragon of the eight sin was aided by the demon of the sixth sin. "And I will use the spell! Pot of Acquisitiveness! I can return three banished monsters to the deck, to draw one card!" Eric returned Harmadik and Patrulea, along with the banished Metalfoes Crimsonite, to get a card from his deck. "Fusion schmusion! I am gonna.."

"I activate a trap, Bad Aim." Stonewell calmly revealed his set card. "Heh?" Bad Aim was triggered by the activation of another card; Back-Up Rider. Now it could destroy one different card on the field. "Hey no!" The shot that was fired killed the mighty Infernoid Attondel. "You said I didn't know you. Do you still believe that? I knew you enough to see all your upcoming moves. Just seeing you in action twice is enough to understand how you use that Infernoid deck." Attondel was the only monster Stonewell needed to fear. "And I can see the next move coming too.." Now that Eric controlled less than eight levels of monsters, he could summon an Infernoid. Unfortunately Attondel asked for two banishings, while Eric only had one. "You're not getting to me, Stonewell. I summon Infernoid Satan!" Eric banished Attondel to special summon Infernoid Pirmais, the tiny satanic dragon(1/0/0), in defense mode. "Yeah, you tell em Eric!" Alice cheered him on. "What can _he_ tell me? He couldn't even beat Tory. There is no way he will last against me." Stonewell shook his head and drew his card.

And during that phase, after the draw, Eric flipped his trap. "Then predict this! I activate Needlebug Nest!" He used the trap to discard the next five cards from his deck; which included several Infernoids and a trap card. "And now I can reuse Void Purification!" One of the Infernoids, Decatron, was purified from the grave and added to Erics hand. "Do what you want. You still can't win." Stonewell activated his field spell, Ignition Phoenix. "I can destroy an Igknight, to add an Igknight to my hand!" The blazing phoenix burned the Igknight Veteran, and replaced it with a second Templar Igknight from the deck. "And I set the pendulum monster Metalfoes Volflame!" The base form of Crimsonite took over the pendulum zone, it (scale 8) was a suitable replacement for the Veteran. "Pendulum summon!" Four burning lights left the extra deck and crashed the field; Igknight Cavalier, Crusader, Veteran(6/1300/2700) and Metalfoes Steelen.

"Eric, how is this?! Each pendulum Metalfoes can destroy one of my cards to trade it for a Metalfoes spell or trap!" Stonewell activated Volflame's spell-effect and shattered his own Ignition Phoenix card. "The card I add is, of course, Metalfoes Fusion!" Now with the fusing spell back in his hands, it was played without a moments hesitation. "By fusing one Metalfoes monster with one monster with a monster that has 2500 attackpoints or less, I will create Metalfoes Adamante!" Steelen jumped into the air and disassembled his motorcycle. The vehicle's parts fused to his body like armor, with the wheels forming winged turbines that kept the Metalfoe flying in the air. Igknight Veteran meanwhile was converted to flames and added raw power to Adamante's burning sabers. This was Adamante(5/2500/2500) the fused psychic swordsman. "And I summon Igknight Templar!" The candidate for the normal summon of the turn was the musketeer Igknight Templar(4/1700/1300). "Lets see.. There's attacks for your monsters and for you!" The battle phase began and Metalfoes Crimsonite blasted towards Infernoid Sjette.

"I'll block you with Necro Gardna!" Fortunately one of Needlebug Nest's discards was the necrotic warrior. Necro Gardna banished itself from the grave to negate the crimson mech's assault. "You'd be an idiot to do otherwise." Stonewell laughed and sent in his remaining forces. Metalfoes Adamante plunged both burning swords into the demon Sjette and sent it down to the inferno. Igknight Crusader similarly sliced up Infernoid Pirmais. "But you cannot brush off everything!" The Igknights Cavalier and Templar attacked directly, barraging Eric with knives and musket fire blasts. "I'm alive enough, Stonewell!" Eric kept up his own cocky grin despite the painful grazing shots. "Still saying that you can win? Ha! Metalfoes Fusion goes back to my deck once more, so that I may draw." The fusion spell shuffled itself out of the grave. And the card Stonewell drew was placed face-down in the spell/trap zone. "I haven't even shown you the best of what this deck can do! None of you can stop me now that Martel has blessed me!"

Eric's LP: 600

"Hm!?" A series of explosions rocked the barrier, loud enough that they could be heard from the other side. "Ah, what the heck?" Tory yelled over the deafening blasts. "Ah, Adamant. Greedy with the warnings as always." Stonewell saw Raidraptor Blaze Falcon through the smoke, the red falcon was the cause of all this destruction. "It didn't work, did it?" But none of its missiles could penetrate his forcefield. "This barrier, it is not guild-tech." If it had been one of his own XYZ-guilds dueldisks, he could have broken it. These fields were even stronger. "It is now. The guilds perfected the technology with the help of Dreamworld. All of their assets became our assets once the guilds and the companies all merged. At least, that is what Martel told me. I do not understand how your world works. You do." Stonewell patted the side of his disk. "A nice attempt though, Adamant. You really go all out when you want to avoid the futures you don't like. Too bad you spent too much time trying to find one and other." Stonewell ended his turn. "Wh-what? What does that mean?" Alice asked him. "That if my King can't eliminate the best duelists, he can at least distract them. Aheh.. I showed him more than the insides of the palace."

...

It was almost suspicious, how easy it was for the master and his two disciples to get to where they wanted to be. The duelists reached the top of the palace in time to pass on their warnings. "Why should we listen to what you're saying? You assaulted a member of the union guard!" That was where the next obstacle presented itself. "Didn't you get the report of what happened on the island, how all those people were taken from their homes and brainwashed to fight your lord there?! The man responsible for all of that is here now!" As expected it was making the ministers believe the information that was the difficult part. "She is right, sir. The people we interrogated after we took them back from the island corroborate that information." At least the palace enforcers seemed to understand what was going on. "This man can control the minds of others? And he is here now? What does he want?" The ministry got a lot more nervous after that confirmation. "We don't know. He might be trying to take over the city. Martel moves fast when it comes to nonduelists." Back in their world the puppetmaster could infest hundreds in less than an hour. "Then we are in luck, I suppose. All my men can duel, and most citizens know how to duel as well. And thanks to their information, he no longer has the element of surprise. We should be able to contain his threat." The lead enforcer stated confidently.

"Contain? Me?" Martel disagreed.

"You.. are not the Lord... Who are you!?" One minister screamed. The way the puppetking unsubtly teleported into the room was just like how the Nisells always showed up. "It's him! He's here!" Zach yelled. "Sir, stand behind me." Iria also protected Dom. "What are you hoping to achieve?" And she activated her dueldisk. "I only want the same things you have. I want you.." Martel gave Zach a quick smirking glance. "Hmph. I don't know how you got inside here, but you wont get anything on your own!" The enforcers surrounded him. "No... not alone. Never alone." Martel chuckled and grabbed several dozen cards from his belt. "What!?" The enforcers flinched. "Are all of those.." Martel activated each and every one, summoning countless of puppets. "Those are.. the prisoners?! You took them from the Monument!" Iria spotted a few faces she saw before in the mainframe's profiles. "Getting new pieces would take too long. But because of you, using the same technology as me.. you already had so many spare pieces laying around. I am borrowing them... Now, let's play."

(To be Continued in Redux 032: Trail of Selfdestruction)

 **New Cards used by 'Eric' Stonewell  
** Kuribandit  
Infernoid Pirmais

-  
Pot of Acquisitiveness

-  
Void Purification

 **New Cards used by Eric 'Stonewell'  
** Igknight Veteran  
Dragoons of Draconia  
Metalfoes Steelen  
Metalfoes Volflame

-  
Metalfoes Adamante  
Metalfoes Crimsonite

-  
Summoner's Art  
Metalfoes Fusion


	59. Trail of Selfdestruction

**Redux 32: Trail of Selfdestruction**

Eric's LP: 600 Stonewell's LP: 4000

"I don't know what you're implying and I don't like it.." Eric was up against five of Stonewells monsters including two fusions; not a pretty sight. "But you got another thing coming if you think you can talk me into quitting! Its my turn!" He drew his card and reactivated Void Purification to return the banished Infernoid Attondel to his graveyard. It was time to fight back. "I summon Decatron and activate his effect to copy Infernoid Beelzebub from my deck!" The demons head Decatron(1/500/200) absorbed the level, name and powers of the many-clawed Infernoid Antra by sending that level 2 demon to the graveyard. "Now Antra Decatron can return one face-up monster on the field back to the deck! I choose Igknight Cavalier!" Decatron(3/500/200) ignited the floor underneath Stonewells strongest Igknight(6/2400/1200) and forced it away. "Cavalier? What the hell?! What about all those Metalfoe things?" Tory complained about his seemingly poor choice of targets. "Eric has a plan.. I think." Alice hoped so at the very least.

"Of course I do! Just destroying those pendulums isn't going to keep them down. But what I can permanently destroy.. are fusion monsters!" Eric banished Infernoid Attondel and Antra from the graveyard. "I special summon Sjette!" The sixth sinner demon(6/2400/0) was the one he revived with those graveyard sacrifices. And Eric put Sjette's card together with Decatron the tuner. "I synchro summon a monster; the Vermillion Dragon Mech!" Nine stars converged for this synchro monster. "Oh?" It was a red and white painted tank with the upper body of a dragon(9/2700/1800) and over a dozen turrets and barrels. "Dragon Mech banishes one tuner from my graveyard to destroy one of your cards, Stonewell! I banish decatron!" The mech's shouldercannons locked on to Metalfoes Crimsonite(9/3000/3000). "Fire!" Two shots went off, and two massive shells drilled through Crimsonite. The fused Metalfoes exploded in a sea of vermillion flames. "Spectacular. I bet his regular attack will look just as devastating! Dragon Mech, attack Metalfoes Adamante!" With its handcannons, the Vermillion machine blasted through the adamantium cyborg(6/2500/2500). "I set two trap cards and end my turn!"

Stonewell's LP: 3800

During Stonewells standby phase, Void Purification returned Infernoid Pirmais to Eric's hand. "So you managed a comeback." Stonewell was a little impressed. All he controlled now was Igknight Crusader(4/1600/400) and Igknight Templar(4/1700/1300). "But you're still acting like a kid, and you do not think ahead. With your lifepoints, you cannot afford small steps!" Stonewell used Dragoons of Draconia (scale 2) and Metalfoes Volflame (scale 8), to resummon Igknight Squire(3/0/2000) and Metalfoes Steelen(2/0/2100) from the extra deck. "Because the fusions will not stop! Metalfoes Volflame destroys Igknight Squire with its effect! And I will take Metalfoes Fusion!" The Volflame pilot blasted the magnum-dagger wielding knight to give his master a certain Metalfoes spell in the deck. "Metalfoes fusion!" Metalfoes Steelen and Igknight Crusader were fused together by that spell. "I went easy on you so far, Eric! Now come the big guns! Fusing a Metalfoes monster with a pendulum monster turns it into Metalfoes Mithrilium!" Another masked metalfoes pilot revealed herself. In this form though she was Metalfoes Mithrilium, the pink-haired psychic(6/2600/1000) in winged mythril armor. "By returning two Metalfoes monsters from my graveyard, Mithrilium can return one of your monsters to your deck! I.."

"Two, you say?" Stonewell was in the middle of activating Mithrilium's effect when Eric flipped his trap. "I activate Fiend Griefing! I can kill one demon monster in my deck, to put one of your dead monsters back in yours!" Fiend Griefing discarded Infernoid Onuncu, and at the same time it shuffled Metalfoes Adamante into Stonewell's extra deck. "I only count one Metalfoes now!" Crimsonite was the only card that Mithrilium could find. And Mithrilium _needed_ to return two. "Gghk. You.." The fusion monsters effect fizzled out. "Saw it coming? Sorta! This predicting strategies-thing is a two-way street, Stonewell!" They were the same person, Eric could think like Stonewell too if he wanted too. "Even so, there are limits you cannot break with strategies alone." Stonewell activated Metalfoes Fusion from his graveyard, returning it to his deck to draw one card. "And my deck is superior to yours, Eric." He placed two of his trap cards down and switched Igknight Templar to defense mode.

"It's not merely about cards, Stonewell." Adamant spoke up unexpectedly. "A duelist is more than his tactics and his tools. Even your King knows that." Martel left Stonewell with enough awareness for a reason. "You judge others so easily, Adamant. Are those the perks of leadership? Not for me, it is much easier to follow than to lead." He sneered. "Okay, now I know you're crazy. The Eric I know would never say that!" Tory protested. "That Eric is gone. he was an idiot who thought he could change the world. We were wrong, Tory!" Stonewell passed the turn to Eric at this point. "Wrong? If you ask me, the fusion guild is what's wrong!" In his standby phase, Void Purification returned the banished Infernoid Decatron to the graveyard so that the Vermillion Synchro had a tuner to banish again. "I'm tired of your talk, and your fusions and your pendulums! Dragon Mech, destroy Metalfoes Volflame!" The mech's cannons fired at and blew up the monster in the right pendulum zone. "And kill Mithrilium too while you're at it!" During the battle phase, Vermillion Dragon Mech attacked Metalfoes Mithrilium and shot her out of the sky.

Stonewell's LP: 3700

"When Metalfoes Mithrilium is destroyed, one other Metalfoes monster can be summoned from the extra deck or graveyard." The destroyed machine released one of its original fusion materials, Metalfoes Steelen, and made it land safely on the field while it crashed in the background. "Meh, I can deal with that." Eric placed a trap and a monster face-down and let Stonewell have his turn. "Can you? You're still not seeing the bigger picture, Eric! Look at your friend, your XYZ-leader!" Stonewell pointed at Adamant. "He was willing to go to war to save his world, and turned hundreds if not thousands of duelists into soldiers just for that! Is that any different from what Martel does?!" His question was for Eric and for everyone else too. "It.. It is! Martel doesn't ask people, he makes them do it!" Alice was the first to answer. "That's just how you see it from the outside. But Martel never lied to us, he told us everything! Meanwhile Adamant kept the truth from his men, and the truth was not even 'true' to begin with. Or was it Adamant? All that preparation, wasted! You though the Union and the Circle were your enemy. You did not see that the danger was time itself!"

"Eric.." Tory was besides herself. Stonewell did not sound like himself at all anymore. "And your guild has the answer to this true enemy? To fuse the worlds?" Phoebe spoke off this before, but Adamant didn't understand her goals then. "Martel knows it can be done. He has seen the world outside of time.. he has seen more than most of us. Not the Zodiacs, not Vesper, not Uno; _he_ will save us." Stonewell drew his card. "You're lucky, Eric. But I wont let that stop me!" He placed a Metalfoes Silverd pendulum monster; Mithriliums original pilot (scale 1), in the empty pendulum zone. "Silverd destroys Draconia!" Silverd's effect was the same as Volflame's. By destroying one of his cards, Stonewell could grab a Metalfoes Fusion spell from the deck. So he got rid of the now useless Draconians. "And I activate Induced Explosion!" The destruction of this card also triggered one of his traps. "When a spell destroys one of my cards, Induced Explosion destroys one of yours!" A lit fuse ran across the floor, from Stonewell to Vermillion Dragon Mech. "Ah hell.." The explosion was induced once the spark reached the end of the fuse, and the machine dragon was torn to shrapnel.

"But I get one banished tuner back, when Vermillion Dragon Mech is destroyed!" Eric yelled as he took Decatron from the banished zone. "So what? I summon Metalfoes Goldriver." The final member(4/1900/500) of the Metalfoes gang drove up to the field on his golden buggy. "And Metalfoes Fusion fuses him with Metalfoes Steelen! Two Metalfoes together fusion summon Metalfoes Orichalc!" The two drivers combined their vehicle parts and power. Steelen disappeared while Goldriver adorned golden armor(8/2800/2200) with four big wheels on its back. "Also, I activate the continuous trap, Metalfoes Combination! With a Metalfoes fusion monster summoned, a Metalfoes monster with a lower level is summoned from the graveyard. That means Metalfoes Mithrilium." The silver metalfoe in her flying armor paired up with Metalfoes Orichalc, and loomed over Erics last monster. "Let's battle, Eric! My metalfoes against your defender! Orichalc makes it so that all my Metalfoes inflict double piercing damage!" The Orichalcum warrior grabbed two flaming axes and dove down. "Just listen to yourself, Eric, and give up. You were already his once before."

"Did you forget that the guild threatened my mom? Your mom? You can't talk me into joining their side again! Besides, listening to myself got me in trouble in the first place!" Eric activated the trap: Power Wall. "When a monster attacks me, I can send a number of cards from my deck to the graveyard! The number has to be greater than the damage I would take, if I multiply that number by 500!" When the Orichalc's axes came down and turned Erics defending Fiendish Rhino Warrior(3/1400/900) to ash, 3800 points of doubled piercing damage were counted. Ten times 500 was more than that, so the damage was cancelled out after Eric discarded ten cards from his deck. "Then I activate Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light from my graveyard, and negate all direct attacks for the rest of the turn!" One of those ten cards was the golden sword trap, which Eric to keep Mithrilium locked down. "Hmph." Stonewell figured something like that could happen. That was why he tried to use piercing attacks in the first place.

"Phoebe was the one who threatened your mother, Eric. She's gone now. It's just Martel who remains, who created the guild." Stonewell reactivated Metalfoes Fusion' graveyard effect to draw one card and placed the drawn card in the spell/trap zone, along with another trap. "Martel did.. How?" Adamant asked. "I am not telling you, XYZ-champion. Not until you have joined us, like the rest of your guild." Stonewell turned his seething eyes towards the others. "Tory, you should get me. We were working for them to begin with, we just didn't know." He was telling the truth, she knew that. "We didn't know.." But it was not the same, nothing was the same. "Yeah! She didn't! How is that okay? Actually, why am I still talking to you? I know you wont listen!" Eric started his turn. Void Purification unbanished Infernoid Attondel this turn. "Satan!" In the next phase he special summoned the Infernoid Pirmais(1/0/0) from his hand by banishing Infernoid Sjette from the graveyard. "And you will return my traps? Not on your life!" Stonewell reacted with another continuous trap that cost 1000 lifepoints: Skill Drain. Now all monster effects on the field were negated. "I have seen all your tricks! You need to adapt or you die, Eric!"

Stonewell's LP: 2700

"That's funny.. because I'll show you a _trick_!" Eric took one card from his hand and.. placed it in his pendulum zone. "Wha?" Alice gasped. She had no idea Eric was using those now. "A Pendulum!?" None of them did. "Meet Archfiend Eccentrick! This girl can tribute herself from the field and destroy a card depending on where she was tributed from!" A childish demon with a feathered cape, tattered dress and horned skull covering her upper face started a dance inside the pendulum zone. "As a spell, she can destroy a spell or trap! And you get one guess which trap I'm picking!" Archfiend Eccentrick burst into starry sparkles as her excitement peaked, and the stars coarsed through Skill Drain to shatter the continuous trap. "You know, Stonewell, this is your fault. You used all those pendulums, so I felt like getting a few of my own. Not because I wanted to be like you, but because I wanted to learn from you. The old you.. not this 'sheep' that's blabbing now! We help people, but not blindly!

"Anyway, Satan can return one of your traps to your hand, which you clearly were afraid of. So.." Infernoid Pirmais targeted the last face-down trap. The unknown card was successfully removed from the field. "Decatron!" Now Eric normal summoned the tuner again. "Now I don't have over eight levels of monsters on my field, so I can summon Infernoid Nehemoth!" Eric banished three Infernoids that were discarded by Power Wall to call the Infernoid Onuncu(10/3000/3000) from the graveyard. "All monsters on the field besides Nehemoth are destroyed!" The great and terrible hell drake unleashed an inferno of death that came Metalfoes Orichalc, Metalfoes Mithrilium, Igknight Crusader, Infernoid Pirmais and Decatron.

"Useless! Because you destroyed Orichalc, your monster will be destroyed too!" Orichalc possessed a final power just like Mithrilium. While the Mythril psychic special summoned Metalfoes Volflame(7/2400/2000) from the extra deck to the field in defense mode. Orichalc turned his deadly crash into a suicidal attack, as he spun out of control towards Infernoid Onuncu and blew them both to kingdom come with the fuel in his jetpack. "This is far from over!" Stonewell shouted. "No. This IS over!" Eric took a card from his graveyard, Infernoid Attondel. "The only way it could end, between two Eric Stonewells, with my favorite card!" Infernoid Attondel(8/2800/0) was special summoned thanks to the banishment of Infernoid Onuncu and Pirmais. "Adramelech! Attack Metalfoes Volflame!" The duke of the eight layer grabbed the Volflame driver with one claw and smashed it into oblivion. "If you attack me now. He will never forgive, Eric." Stonewell cursed. "He's the one who should ask for that, Stonewell." Eric shrugged. Attondel gained a second attack after it destroyed the one monster. "Do a direct attack, on Stonewell!" The other claw spread wide open and slashed across Stonewells body. "NgGraaah!"

Stonewell's LP: 0

The minute he fell, the barriers broke down. "Eric!" Tory rushed over to his side to catch him, but the light had left his eyes. "Hey! Wake up! Come on!" No matter how hard she shook him, there was no response. "Tory. He's going to recover from this. Trust me, I felt just as bad as he looks now." It took a lot out of him, and he figured Stonewell would be very tired regardless. "Are you sure? Is he sure?" Tory looked at the others. "Perhaps it is not so simple. Bishop could still be controlled to some extent, and Eric.. you needed the help from another psychic to break free permanently." Adamant was unable to give her strictly good news. "But Zach got better. So Stonewell.. Eric.. should too, shouldn't he? Maybe.. the longer you are away from him, the less he can boss you around." Alice didn't have much to back that up with, but she wanted to give Tory something. "Well then the first thing we should do is get the hell out of here." Tory reasoned. "We can.. Eric." Adamant gave Eric a nod. "Huh? Oh, yeah! I.. oof!" Eric tried to get up, but stumbled down. "Eric!"

"Ow.. Guess.. those attacks hurt a bit more than I thought." Eric managed to ignore the pain through adrenalin so far, but it had caught up with him now. "You nearly lost, it is no wonder. Just take it slowly." Adamant figured this was the cost of losing so many lifepoints in one of these duels. "I guess. Still, Alice. You should take this." He pulled through and took out the crystal to hand it to her. "Okay... But where we are we going? And what about.." She paused. "Wait, does anyone hear that?" The sound of marching duelists reached the music room.

"Now what.." Erics groans were interrupted when a dozen enforcers, templars and other duelists walked into the room. "No!" Alice held her hands in front of her mouth. "Mom!" Eric's mother and Alice's father were standing with with the rest of the mob, who all shared the same vacant expression. "Martel got them. But where did all these other duelists come from?" Adamant saw all kinds of puppets; like they arrived from separate parts of the world. "You should not go so soon. Who knows what might happen." And their master was there too, of course. " _I_ know." Martel placed his hand on the shoulder of one duelist. "Do not blame me. I did not make these cards. This Union did. They were all prisoners for the right or the wrong reasons. All I did, was give them purpose." Martel laughed. "Purpose? You did this to Eric to help him?" Tory roared as she got up. "Do not do anything a fool would do." Martel snapped his finger, placing all his duelist slaves into an offensive stance. "The new Knight had to make sure you would not leave with that crystal. It would be unpleasant if the Lords found out about us. Your friends from dreamworld wont be able to warn him either, my pawns upstairs are keeping them busy. Soon they will be mine too."

"But... why?!" Alice could not even think about running away while her fathers life was on the line. Even so, that Martel was going this far astonished her. "Yes. Why are you doing all of this? Your guild already has what it wanted." Adamant thought the fusion guild's plans were done once they collected the four dragon cards. "Bringing the worlds together was only a part of the dream. Bringing everyone together is the next step, and that includes those who do not belong to either world. Uno Nisell, Anastasia Nisell, Marco Nisell, August, June, January, December. They are the unique pieces.. and I see now, so are you." Martel walked up to Alice. "Ah!" She flinched away while Adamant stepped up to defend her. "You will not touch her." He activated his dueldisk, which was merely futile posturing against this many opponents and with his lifepoints. "Alice, use the crystal." His true goal was to make sure someone could get away. "I can't.." She resisted. "Martel wants to get to Uno through us! We cannot let that happen, you must go! I can stay.." Compared to her, he was expendable. That was how he saw it. "No! I don't want to leave anyone behind!" She just had seen too much of that. "You wont. You'll never be alone again, Alice.." Martel advanced again and..

"She is not alone!" .. was stopped by the lords of the house. "Uno!" Uno entered the hall with his crystals power, right in front of a momentarily dazed Martel. "I am sorry. I wanted to come sooner. I did not know it was this bad." Uno quickly apologized to the duelists before he turned back to the new self-proclaimed king. "Martel. If you want me, here I am. I only hope you don't mind that I brought some friends." Anastasia was with him, and so was August. But there was a fourth visitor. "You.." Though the two never met in person, they were familiar with each other's reputation. "So you are the one, messing with everyone's minds." June the goldenhaired psychic grinned. "I am glad we could finally have a little chat."

(To be Continued in Redux 031: Ultimate Hatred Creates Ultimate Love)

 **New Cards used by 'Eric' Stonewell  
** Archfiend Eccentrick

-  
Vermillion Dragon Mech

-  
Power Wall

 **New Cards used by Eric 'Stonewell'  
** Metalfoes Silverd  
Metalfoes Goldriver

-  
Metalfoes Mithrilium  
Metalfoes Orichalcum

-  
Induced Explosion  
Metalfoes Combination


	60. Ultimate Hatred Creates Ultimate Love

**Redux 31: Ultimate Hatred Creates Ultimate Love**

"You two?!" Eric was not sure if it was good news that suddenly August and June were here. "Hello to You too, Eric." But a lot had happened, and perhaps they were not the biggest threat anymore. "Why are you with them?" Still this situation begged for answers, Adamant thought. "Let's just say we found each other. I fell into this world a few days after August did. While living here was doable, not knowing where everyone else was.. not so much. Lucky me, these three tracked down the power of my crystal and came to pick me up." She ticked the crystal earring in her left ear. "Waitwait.. you're another one of those zodiac timetravelers? Weren't there four of you?" Tory asked. "We couldn't find January and December. They are undoubtedly confined to the other world." August grunted. "Uno.. you wanted to find them?" This was a big shock for Alice; Uno never told any of them his plans. "I felt It was the only way to find Marco. They're not here for you or me, believe me." Uno assured her, while August glowered in the background. June was all smiles though. "I am willing to bargain. Of course it is much easier for me, when I can simply read your minds to understand what is going on.."

"and what _is_ going on?" There was still the puppetking and his surrounding army to deal with. "you.. have a pendulum too. i do not see it, but I know it. how?" Anastasia's eyes were glued to him. "So this is the crystal you did not count on. Well no matter who he is, he's made himself our target too." August activated his dueldisk. "You think you can stop me?" Martel finally spoke. "I have so many already, more than you!" His puppets all drew their cards to take them on. "Just what do you want with us anyway?" Uno wanted an answer for once. "Everyone asks me that, when they cannot understand! When you are mine, then you will not have to _ask_!" He ranted. "Oh I want to ask right now. Hmm, the power to see through the minds of others is pretty strong, Martel." June grinned and a glowing image of a golden eye appeared on her forehead. "But now that I stand face to face with you, I can spot its flaws too. You are the lynchpin." She pointed one finger forward. "Bang." A line of energy traveled from her hand to Martel. "KyAhh!" And it spread from his head like a spiders web. In that moment, all the duelists around him passed out and dropped to the ground.

"Mom!" Erics mother and Alice's father collapsed as well. "What... did you do to my pieces?" A wide-eyed Martel rasped. "I cut your threads. Every mind you infested, I cleaned up. Your next thought will be to ask me how I could do that, and the answer is simple.. I have been doing this game for a very long time. Your power may be as old as mine, older even perhaps. But you limited it with your own understanding, you are still a boy in the end." June said while August advanced. "He should not be able to do such things to begin with. To transform lives into nothing more than data and energy is a right given only to the guardians of time. Which you should also know, Fortuno Nisell." He gave Uno a judging look. "Yeah.. I know what I did, August." Because of him, the Union possessed that same ability. "Yet, that at least I can understand. But how did this kid learn the technique?"

"Hard to say. He's keeping those thoughts buried deep. We'll need to flush them out." Not even the telepath had the answers yet, but a quick duel would sort that out. "This is not the end." However, the puppetking was not going to play their game. He took his black-eyed puppet and.. "that doll." ..lost it to Anastasia. "No!" The lady Nisell summoned a Kozmo Dark Lady monster who swatted the doll out of Martels hands. "Give her back!" He shouted petulantly as Anastasia picked the doll up. "i was right." She pulled out one of its button eyes to reveal the purple crystal underneath. "Another pendulum?" Uno gasped. That explained how Martel could escape so many times. How did he never sense this? "... this is not yours. how did you get this?"

"It is mine now and I want it back!" Martel clapped his hands. The templar drones all switched to offensive mode. "More of those fakes?" August scowled. "He must have used the enforcers to change their orders before he came here." Adamant guessed as he activated his dueldisk too. There were five drones, one for him, Uno, Anastasia, June and August. "Well, he's not teleporting away now. Alice, Eric, Tory, take your parents and Stonewell and get out of here. We can deal with him." Uno didn't want to get them in harms way anymore. "Uh, right." Eric was not going to disagree, with his lifepoint total. "They're not leaving until they give me that crystal back. You can use his to escape.." August took the doll from Anastasia. "Oh, ah, yeah, this was yours." Alice gave him Eric's pendulum crystal in return. "You will not take that from me too!" But the incensed puppet king made a sudden jump for the two during the exchanging of crystals. "Ah!" Panicking, Alice pulled the doll back. Martel was almost upon her when she and several others flashed out of the room.

...

"Oh man that was close!" Alice's unscheduled transport took Eric and his mother, Alice and her father, Tory and the unconscious Stonewell with her. "Wait...This is still inside the palace?" Eric recognized this room with white clean walls. It was the infirmary. "Sorry. It was the only thing I could think of right away." All that talk of Martel and his victims put this area in her head. The room with Bishop in it was not far from here. "Well, there doesn't seem to be anyone around. And we avoided that Martel guy.." Tory peeked around the corner, the halls were as empty as they could possibly be. "Gah!" Until Martel dropped to the floor in a flash as well. "Give.. it back." In his hands he held a red crystal. "Dammit! He took August's crystal and followed us!? Give it a break alrea... Grghah.." Eric shouted, which only strained his tired body more. " _She_ is tied with me. Wherever she goes, I will know."

"So we can't run?" Even if Alice would use the doll's crystal again, he'd be right there with them. "Why would I run from an opportunity like this?!" Tory yanked Stonewells dueldisk from his wrist and replaced his deck with hers. "Heck, let's see how you like it!" She knew how to activate the barriers from watching Stonewell use them. Tory quickly put one up around herself and the others. "You're not getting to Alice while I am around, Martel! I wonder how good of a duelist you are without your puppets?" She taunted him and drew her cards. "I did not lose everything, fool." Martel took one card from his belt and placed it in his dueldisk. "Huh?!" Tara the queen duelist materialized in front of her king, and intercepted the challenge of Tory. "My queen is always there for me. She only needs to defeat you, and the barriers will fall."

Queen's LP: 8000 Tory's LP: 8000

"Fantastic." Tory groaned. "Ggh. Tory, you gotta let us help you! This guy wont play fair!" Eric had first-hand experience of Martel ambushing others in the middle of their duels. She'd stand more of a chance with more allies. "You're already almost dead, Eric. Don't get crazy. Alice, don't you get any ideas either. You're gonna have to get everyone to safety if this goes sour." She warned them both. The barrier gave them no choice anyway. "I owe this bastard one. So let him try." She drew five cards. The Queen drew five as well and received the first turn. "My queen, you know what I want to see." Martels puppet normal summoned her first monster; a red crystal bird called Crystron Rosenix(4/1800/1000). "Ho?" Tara discarded a card from her hand too, Crystron Prasiortle, to special summon a monster from her hand. "Crystron Sulphafnir demands one Crystron from the hand." Martel helpfully explained as the sulfur dragon(5/2000/1500) crystallized. "And then it destroys one card she controls. And when _it_ is destroyed.."

"Yeah yeah! It can summon a Crystron from the deck! I can read, Martel!" Sulphafnir targeted its own body for the destruction effect, and shattered into fiery shards of glass. The destroyed Crystron summoned another tuner from the deck, the citrine robot Crystron Citree(2/500/500). "I get that you know your puppets decks inside and out. But so do I! Stonewell warned me about her moves. I know your nontuners can destroy themselves to summon tuners from the deck and all that stuff!" She stated before Tara did just what she described. Rosenix destroyed itself, and special summoned the clear crystal robot and tuner Crystron Quan(1/500/500) from Martel's deck. "You do not know thing about us." Martel hissed while the queen activated Machine Duplication. "Okay, that's new." The spell summoned two duplicates of machines with 500 attackpoints or less, two more Citree tuners(2/500/500), from the deck. Finally, Crystron Prasiortle's effect activated from the graveyard; banishing itself to special summon a Crystron from the players hand. The last of the three tuners appeared; the metallic grey-bodied and blue-crystal haired Crystron Rion(3/500/500).

"Then.. who was she? Why did she have to be yours?" Alice wondered openly, unable to look away from this poor woman. "Don't bother asking him. This guy's warped. It's beyond obvious that she doesn't like being used like this!" Tory figured it was her turn, once the silent duelist stopped moving entirely. "I set the scales of Abyss Actor Extras and Abyss Actor Twinkle Littlestar!" The ghostly cyclops trio (scale 3) haunted the red pendulum zone. A little pinkhaired girl (scale 9) wearing an oversized purple dress and hat claimed the blue pendulum zone. "The Extras can summon themselves from the pendulum zone. And they can tribute themselves to move a new Abyss Actor from my deck to the pendulum zone!" The back-up actors(1/100/100) left the pendulum zone for the monster zones. And they sent themselves to the extra deck, so that Abyss Actor Leading Lady (scale 2) could take the other corner of the stage. "Pendulum summon: Superstar and Extras!" Together the female actors introduced their biggest star(7/2500/1800) from her hand and resummoned the Extras from the extra deck in defense mode.

"Abyss Actor Superstar! Get me Abyss Script Fire Dragons Lair and set it!" Tory searched her deck for the spell she wanted with Superstar's effect. The spellbook landed face-down and was quickly flipped face-up. "Fire Dragons Lair targets my superstar! Now he'll banish three cards from your extra deck whenever he attacks!" She tapped her pendulum monster as well. "And Abyss Actor Twinkle Littlestar here lets one my Actors attack three monsters in one turn! Care to tell me how many you have?!" She entered her battle phase. "More then you can touch. My Queen, begin.." As Martel commanded, the Queen activated her tuners effects. "Heh?" Crystron Quan special summoned a nontuner from the womans hand; Crystron Smiger the black quartz tiger(3/1000/1800). It then immediately tuned itself with that monster to synchro summon a machine; Crystron Quandax the white tiger knight(4/1800/2000). "Tory, she can use those tuners effects during your turn!" Eric shouted.

"Too late to tell her now." Martel laughed as the Queen activated Crystron Citree as well. Citree special summoned Crystron Rosenix from the graveyard and synchronized with it. The banished rose bird and citrine tuner formed a different kind of machine; Powered Inzektron the mechanical claw-bug tank(6/2500/1600). "My queen wont take any damage, during the turn this card is summoned." The Inzektron raised a field of energy around its master. "So what? I still get to use Fire Dragon lair's effect!" Thanks to he Superstars Script and Twinkle Littlestar, Tory could banish up to nine cards from the extra deck. "If I can't reach your lifepoints, I'll target your synchros!" Tory declared her attack, getting impatient. "One more, my queen." So the puppet was forced to activate Rions power. That tuner could special summon banished Crystrons like the green crystal turtle Prasiortle(2/500/2000), and immediately tune with them. The materials were returned to the deck, and their five levels combined into the amethyst angel; Crystron Ametrix(5/2500/1500). "!?" Ametrix' effect forced Superstar into defense mode. "Bah! Keep smirking. I can't wait to wipe that expression away." Tory placed three cards in her backrow and let her turn end.

"Warped, was I? You are just as vulgar as Stonewell." Martel's smile widened as his Queen started her turn. "I do not need to step in. My queen is clearly superior by herself." Tara banished Crystron Smiger from the graveyard to take a Crystron trap card from the deck; Crystron Impact. Next, Tara normal summoned Crystron Thystvern; the amethyst eagle(4/1500/1500). "See her splendor." The two remaining Citree tuners joined hands with Ametrix. "That's not an Accel synchro!" Tory gasped. "It's double tuning!" The three monsters melded into each other, forming a synchro angel forged from gold. "Crystron Gliongandr. When summoned, all opposing monsters are banished." This Crystal lord opened its wings to release a curtain of deadly light. It fell upon the Superstar actor and his Extras; permanently casting them into another dimension. "Tory!" Alice banged her hand against the barrier. "It's too late!" Even if Eric or her could step in now, Tara was already moving to attack. "You're mine!" Martel declared as Gliongandr attacked directly, knocking Tory against the barrier with its tail.

Tory's LP: 5000

"Hfff. Thanks for..triggering Leading Lady." Since she took damage, she could activate her pendulum monsters effect. The Leading Lady waved her wand to pummel the golden synchro. It(0/3000) lost attackpoints for each lifepoints Tory lost. "How pointless." Leading Lady could not use this power on anyone else besides the attacker. Powered Inzektron, Quandax and Thystvern were free to finish Tory off. "Heh. You think so?" Until Tory activated her trap card; Echo Oscillation. "I'm not finished with you, Martel!" The trap destroyed her pendulum, Abyss Actor Leading Lady, to draw a new card; a very lucky card. "I can special summon Battlefader from my hand, which stops your direct attack and ends the battle phase!" Powered Inzektron came to a screeching halt, when the clockbells were sounded by the arrival of the demon Battlefader(1/0/0). "Fool. Your hunger for revenge is misplaced. _He_ would say the same if he saw you now."

"What? No he wouldn't! Don't believe him, Tory. This is all just a game to him!" Eric yelled. "Oh I know what he wants, I know him, your friends, your parents, better than any of you ever can.." Martel retorted. "But.. that doesn't mean you can use them! You know they wouldn't want this!" Alice could not imagine her dad turning against her, not in a million years. "They do not know what they want, they want to be free. 'Tara' was full of pain before me, she deserved better. She deserved me.. now she has nothing to worry about anymore. Anger and your strength, is nothing before the bonds we create." While the King spoke, the Queen let Thystvern selfdestruct so that its effect could special summon a second Crystron Quan(3/500/500) from the deck in defense mode. And she was about to end her turn. "Just shut up." However Tory flipped her last card before she could do anything. "I am tired of people pushing us around, you're as bad as anyone else. And I wont let anyone get away with that anymore!" It was the quintessential spell and trap destroyer: Mystical Space Typhoon. It targeted Crystron Impact and shattered it. "!?"

"I'm not as dumb as you think I am, Martel. I can see that Quandax can synchro summon during my turn! That's why you summoned Quan as your tuner!" Cryston Impact could have unbanished Rosenix, which then could be tuned with the Quandax and Quan tuners to form a second Crystron Gliongandr to banish her monsters. "If you really knew my Eric, you would know me as well! Too bad.. that's gonna cost you your queen!" Then during her turn, she activated her second trap; Abyss Actor Backstage. This card could add any two Abyss Actors from the deck to the extra deck. "I send Abyss Actor Evil Heel and a second Abyss Actor Superstar!" Now there was a proper cast for her next pendulum show. "I set the scale Abyss Actor Sassy Rookie! And Pendulum summon my monsters!" The sassy clown (scale 2) was the new partner of Twinkle Littlestar. Together they summoned back the Leading Lady(4/1500/1000), the new Superstar(7/2500/2000) and the headless yet masked devil Evil Heel(8/3000/2000).

"When Evil Heel is summoned, one of your monsters loses 1000 attackpoints for each Abyss Actor I control!" The demon opened the mouth on its torso and spewed out a debilitating acid to 'depower' the Powered Inzektron(0/1600). "Twinkle Littlestar will target Evil Heel this time, so he can attack your three monsters! Though none of my other actors can attack now. But you better believe he is going too hit hard!" She entered her battle phase. "Evil Heel attacks Gliongandr!" Twinkle Littlestar tossed three plush stars towards Evil Hell, who threw them away like razor discs. The first sliced right through the golden synchro, as if it were made of butter. "Rgh!"

Tara's LP: 5000

"Once each turn, when my opponent takes a hit, the Leading Lady can take just as many of your monsters attackpoints away!" The heroine used her brush to splatter Quandax(0/2000) with bright stars, making it as weak as the previous victim. "Evil Heel will attack her too!" The second shot cracked the mechanical synchro of clear crystal. Tara's lifepoints dropped by another three thousand. "And of course, one is left! The third target, Powered Inzektron, blew up when Evil Heel slammed the last star into its tank-body. The resulting destruction overwhelmed Tara and drove her against the walls. "No!" Martel cried out in vain, feeling the threads around her sever with the last drop of her lifepoints. "Now Tara has what she really needs.. So who is next, Puppetmaster? Or are you out of puppets?"

Tara's LP: 0

"No. He has not." A not too unfamiliar voice responded. "Wh.." Tory noticed her dueldisk was not disengaging yet, though she assumed that was merely due to the nature of Martels battle royal system. "That's the guy!" Eric coughed. "My bishop." Martel saw his old puppet walk into the infirmary. "Mr Bishop? What are you.." Alice was shocked to see him pick up Tara's dueldisk and use it as it was his. "He has come back for his king, of course." Martel had a relieved smirk on his face. "You.." Tory couldn't believe what she was seeing. "I'm sorry. Your duel with him is over, miss Tory." He inserted his cards into the disk and assumed his own lifepoints. "Because.. I want him for myself!"

(To be Continued in Redux 030: Blood from a Stone)

 **New Cards used by Tory  
** Abyss Actor - Extras  
Abyss Actor - Twinkle Littlestar

-  
Abyss Script - Fire Dragon's Lair

-  
Abyss Actor Backstage  
Echo Oscillation

 **New Cards used by 'Queen' Tara  
** Crystron Prasiortle  
Crystron Rion  
Crystron Gliongandr

-  
Powered Inzektron

-  
Machine Duplication


	61. Blood from a Stone

**Redux 30: Blood from a Stone**

A Lord of the Union owned many places he could call home. Too many to keep track off. Marco Amadeus Nisell was not greedy when it came to expenses. There existed mansions and lofts his own family never even heard of. Certainly, he was the lord of the world and was called upon a lot. But when one could travel to any part of it instantaneously, time was barely an issue. "My lord. The men are getting restless. They want new orders, they want to know what we are going to do. And to tell the truth, so do I.." But now, here in this estate on a remote island near the atlantic, time was the only issue. "I know what We must do. But I cannot Risk another jump. They are Watching me." Marco could sense the pendulums on his trail, more now than ever. "Christopher you Fool. You Got those four hunters Involved. You've Damned yourself as well as Us." For now he could hide his crystal. But that meant not using it either. "If it were less, I could..." If only he could find a minute. "Do you need a distraction?" The Inquisitor was about to make a predictable offer. "No, that could Lead them back to Me. And we don't Have enough duelists. We need something That only Christopher would Care for." His brother's pendulum was the strongest, his powers were the primary threat to his plans.

"Oh. I might have an idea then." Silver's expression changed to a twisted smile. "According to the templar network, someone has emptied the Facility and sent its inmates to the control city." She said as she checked her dueldisk screen. "Someone? Who could.. or Would do that?" Marco wondered. "Perhaps one of their guild-friends, who can tell. But we can use this, my lord."

"Can we Now? I am Listening, my Clever Inquisitor."

...

Bishop's LP: 8000 Martel's LP: 8000

Bishop was here, not to duel Tory. But to duel his former King. "You.. what? You were bluffing?" Eric should have known nobody would willingly go back to Martel. "He was? Then why did you go through that act before?" Tory almost fell for it. "I just wanted to see, if he could still hear me... If he could see what I wanted. You couldn't, could you.. King? That any of us could go against you, is beyond your thinking." The fact that Martel let him get this close proved that. "And.. I wanted to se if I could truly not hear you. If you could stop me, you would have!" He started drawing his cards. "All of you, do not try to help me. He is mine!"

"You do not know what you are doing." Martel claimed the first turn. His smile slowly crept up on his face. "You are no longer fit to be my Bishop. You are just a pawn, and you shall be treated as such." The king activated his first spell, creating a pool of darkness that stretched out like running ink. "Curse of the Shadowprison. One spellstone counter for this spell, each time one or more of my dolls is sent to the grave by an effect. I will send two.." Another spell card activated; El Shaddoll Fusion. "Darkness. Shaddoll." It fused a Shaddoll Beast and a Shaddoll Squamata in his hand, to create an Shaddoll fusion that used darkness as the binding element. "FUSION SUMMON! EL Shaddoll WINDA!" The endresult was the black armored wind priestess Winda(5/2200/800) riding a corrupted Yangzing dragon.

"Aren't those.." Both of those were cards Alice and Eric had seen before in the hands of other duelists. "August and June's cards, yeah." Whatever this meant, it did not feel like a coincidence. Martel's deck carried fusions based on Infernoids and Gemknights as well, but those he could at least have taken from the fusion guild. "My shadddolls found the graveyard. Shaddoll Beast draws.." Martel activated the effects of the fused shaddolls; drawing one card thanks to the corrupted Naturia Beast. "And Shaddoll Squamata sends one extra Shaddoll." The serpent shadow discarded Shaddoll Hedgehog from the deck, whose Shaddoll-monster searching effect was triggered as well. "I add Shaddoll Dragon to my hand." At this point The Shadow Prison spell procured two spellstone counters, from the fusion and from Squamata's effect. And as long as the Winda Shaddoll was alive, each player could only special summon one monster per turn. The puppetmaster placed a trap card down and passed the turn to Bishop.

"That.. That is why you needed me, Tara, us.. You wanted duelists who specialized in their own attributes, so you could fuse with us. My attribute was... earth. I remember, that I liked them... even before you met me." Bishop took his turn and activated the flying pyramid field spell: Triamid Cruiser. "Whoa!" The pyramid seemingly lifted the two duelists up on a platform of sand and made the room look far bigger than it really was. "But now you don't have any of them anymore! You aren't one and six, you're just one! Making dark fusions is all you can do!" Fusions like El Shaddoll Construct or Grysta had to be impossible in deck that only ran dark-type Shaddolls. "You're weak, Martel!" Bishop continued his turn and summoned the Triamid Master(4/1800/700). The monster(1600/700)'s attackpower was rapidly drained by the shadow of the Curse Prison spell. "You know what my cards do, I wont waste those words on you!" With a Triamid normal summoned on the Triamid Cruiser, Bishop could draw one card and discard another. "I discard Triamid Fortress!" He would also gain 500 lifepoints from the current field spell.

Bishop's LP: 8500

"I switch the Cruiser for Triamid Kingolem!" He played a second field spell from his hand. The pyramid ship transformed into a robotic tank that added 500 attackpoints to all rockmonsters like Triamid Master(2100/1100). Also, when Triamid Cruiser left the field, a Triamid card could be claimed from the deck. "I take Triamid Sphinx! Now Triamid Master attacks!" The egyptian lord raced across the pyramid golem towards the El Shaddoll of darkness. Of course that attack did not even reach Winda; her dragon mount counter-attacked with black flames and killed the Master. "Now, Triamid Sphinx!" Yet the death of a Triamid led to the special summon of the legendary sphinx(10/2300/2500). It gained 500 attack- and defense points for each field spell in the graveyard and he(3800/3500) also took the 500-point bonus from Kingolem "Attack!" The second monster was more successful. Triamid Sphinx blew El Shaddoll Winda up with a divine thunderbolt. "Martel, If I win, you will tell me everything! About my life, about why you did this to me, even about that damn puppet!" He let his turn end. "If you win?" Tory raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound too confident, kid."

Bishop's LP: 8400 Martel's LP: 6400

"How can he be, when he is lost. My puppet, you already know you will fail." Martel was still smiling despite the setbacks, because he already had another fusion method in his hand.. "I play.. Fusion Subsitute!" As he played the classic fusion spell, three spellstone counters were removed from his Shadow Prison. "!?" The continuous spell got a third counter from the dying Winda and activated its final effect during a fusion summon. "But I thought.." Triamid Kingolem prevented the activation of other card effects during a Triamid's attacks. Except Curse of the Shadow-Prison's effect was continuous. "Your monster is now mine." The shadow extended across Triamid Sphinx, covered it with darkness. The cursed monster was forcibly fused with Shaddoll Dragon. "Your monsters were never yours, puppet! If I need earth, I will get it! FUSION SUMMON! El Shaddoll Shekhinaga!" The statue-esque doll construct reappeared at the base and covered herself in earthen armor, forged from the Sphinx and Dragons remains. And because the Shaddoll Dragon went to the graveyard, Bishops spell card, Kingolem, was shattered to pieces. The Cursed Prison already acquired one new spellstone counter.

"Ah...haah.. ah!" Shekhinaga(10/2600/3000) took on a mechanical form; a very haunting form. "Alice? What's wrong?" Eric was shocked to see her almost fall back into a panic attack. "Eric.. That's..that's.." She kept herself from screaming, but there was no possibility that she was just seeing things. "Them! The ones that.. Qliphort!" The armor that surrounded the El Shaddoll was of the same color and patterns as Iria's qliphort machines; as the guardians of time. "The what?" Bishop yelled. "She says it looks like the things that destroyed her home? That'd mean he's using cards based on monsters that don't even exist here? How the hell?" Tory was about to give up on making sense of all of this. "Where from did you think I got my power? My source is the same as the Lords used, a place older than all of us." Martel started his battle phase and pointed towards Bishop. "You have done well, to get me this far.. my puppet. Here is the reward." Shekhinaga attacked directly, with a laserblast that looked a lot like the energy attacks of the Qliphorts. "Yaaargh!"

Bishop's LP: 5800

"Kgh.. Kgah!" Bishop was thrown to the other side of the hall. "Dude, you okay?" Tory would have gone after him, except she had a barrier to maintain. "..." Martel waited for his opponent to get up. "You.. you knew I would summon the Sphinx. You wanted me too." Bishop realized now, when it was too late, that Martel was manipulating him. "I did. Even when I cannot hear your heart, I know how it beats." The king chuckled lazily. "You don't know everything. You can't." Bishop drew his next card and activated a new field spell, Catapult Zone. "You will use cards like Dokidoki now. When the Triamids fail, they are your fallback." And the card he drew was the one whose name Martel uttered. "!?" The king could even read that. "Damn you!" Bishop summoned Dokidoki the heartshaped jar(2/400/400) anyway. "I will not let you use me!" He activated Dokidoki's effect, discarding a level 2 Dummy Golem from his hand to summon a second Dokidoki(2/500/500) from his deck in defense mode. "Overlay!" The two Dokidoki jars combined into one monster; the rock-covered ogre Gachi Gachi Gantetsu(2/400/1800). Its effect added 200 attackpoints to all monsters on the field, for each XYZ-material attached to it(600/1800).

"Now, I can banish three rock monsters from my graveyard, to special summon Block Dragon from my hand!" Triamid Sphinx, Triamid Master and the discarded Dummy Golem disappeared simultaneously, as their bodies transformed to colored blocks. The blocks stacked together to form a large dragon beast(8/2400/3000). "Block Dragon attacks the Shaddoll!" With the power-up from Gachi Gachi, the dragon(2800/1800) mustered enough attackpoints to compete with El Shaddoll Shekhinaga. It charged and crushed the doll against the wall. "This is also, exactly what was expected." Martel activated the effect of the dying El Shaddoll, which returned one Shaddoll spell or trap to its masters hand. Naturally Martel reclaimed El Shaddoll Fusion. "Your cards are at zero. Your turn has ended." Martel started his turn and activated Fusion Substitute from the graveyard, banishing it to return the fusion El Shaddoll Shekhinaga to his extra deck and to draw one new card. When he saw what that card was, his eye pulsed with energy. "Inversely, I am not at zero. If you believed that I am weaker alone. See your error now." Martel activated his second trap, Shaddoll Core.

Martels LP: 6100

"The core?" It was a trapmonster that took the form of the one-horned black heart(9/1450/1950) that corrupted every monster into a Shaddoll. "That's what.. takes everyone's hearts?" Alice felt a shudder travel across her nerves, as she saw the thing. It felt the most 'alive' out of all of Martels cards. "The core takes one element, any element." Martel made Shaddoll Core assume the water-attribute. Its shadowy trails turned blue like the ocean. "And.. you have summoned an XYZ-monster, like I wanted..." Martel activated his newest spell. "Shaddoll Fusion!" The fusing maelstrom combined the Shaddoll core with a Shaddoll not on the field or in the hand. "It fuses monsters in the deck?" Eric gasped. "I did so, long before your Infernoids. Shaddoll Fusion takes materials from the deck, if those against me use extra deck monsters." Another Shaddoll Squamata fused with the Core to create the El Shaddoll of water, El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis(9/2700/2000). Now Bishop couldn't special summon cards from the hand or graveyard with spell or trap cards.

"Shaddoll Core, give me El Shaddoll Fusion. Shaddoll Squamata, send Shaddoll Hound." The fused core activated its own graveyard effect, which returned Shaddoll spells or traps to the masters hand. Squamata meanwhile sent a second Hedgehog to the graveyard to set off that creature's effect and add a Shaddoll Hound from the deck to Martels hand. "Oh no.." And by now, there were four spellcounters on the Cursed Shadowprison. "El Shaddoll Fusion! And FUSION SUMMON!" Block Dragon who was targeted by three spellstone counters from the Shadow spell. El Shaddoll Fusion took the Shaddoll Hound from his hand to fuse it with the corrupted Block Dragon. "Shekhinaga!" Once again earth and darkness created the Qliphort construct(10/2600/3000). To make matters as bad as they could possibly be, the discarded Hound forced Gachi Gachi Gantetsu(700/1800) to an attacking position. "Your field too, will be zero." Shekhinaga struck the XYZ-monster with its destructive thunderbolts.

Bishop's LP: 3900

"Gachi! I.. No!" Gachi Gachi Gantetsu could negate its own destruction by detaching one XYZ-material. "I can't risk it." However Shekhinaga could negate a special summoned monster's effect, by sending a Shaddoll (Shaddoll Hedgehog) out of Martels hand. "That is right. Fear me, as all lost pawns should." Martel commanded. "No! You... I still have Catapult Zone!" Bishop's field spell could also negate the destruction of his rock monster. "Send Magnet Warrior Alpha!" The spell loaded a rock monster from his deck into the slings and fired it away. The magnet warrior slammed into Shekhinaga before she could deliver the killing blow. Unfortunately this was a once-a-turn effect. "Anoyatyllis.." The water construct finished the Gachi Gachi monster off with a geyser of scalding water attack. "Hsss!" Bishop's skin was nearly burned by the damage. "It hurts, yes. Pain is for the lost. You did not feel pain with me." Martel set one monster face-down on his field and ended his turn. "You wanted this."

Bishop's LP: 1900

"W..we..we have to help him. But.." Things did not look good, Alice knew that. Bishop would stand a better chance with them by his side, she knew that too. Yet her body refused to move, just because of that monster Martel controlled. "He wont let us anyway." Eric grumbled. Even now Bishop continued with that fire in his eyes, it was a look full of hate. "You do not scare me, Martel. You can't hurt me.. " Though his body was in pain from those two attacks, his mind refused to accept the feeling. "I know you can see everything I would have done. That's why.. I changed something." Back when Block Dragon left the field, its last effect was employed. The user could add three rock monsters from the deck to.. if their levels together added up to eight. "I have these now!" Bishop revealed the cards in his hand: his last Dokidoki (level 2), Gamma the Electromagnet Warrior and Beta the Electromagnet Warrior (level 3). "Something new?" Martel tilted his head. These cards were indeed not what his 'Bishop' would have used. "This is the city of dueling. When I broke out again, I took some new cards.. the Magnet Warriors!"

"Here!" Bishop summoned Dokidoki(2/400/400). It discarded the Gamma warrior. "Dokidoki special summons Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior!" the heartjar released the first of the three magnetfaced knights, Alpha(3/1700/1100) the shield lancer. "Let me tell you what these new cards do, King! When Alpha is special summoned, I can add a Magna Warrior from my deck to my hand!" Bishop grabbed a level 8 monster from his deck. Luckily it appeared Martel had no Shaddolls in his hand right now to use as fuel for Shekhinaga's negations. "And I choose Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior! This is the combined form of all three Magnet knights! His materials come from the hand.." Bishop banished his Beta the Electromagnet Warrior. "Field!" Alpha vanished as well. "And graveyard!" The discarded Gamma formed the last piece. All three banished Electric warriors united into one giant magnetic robot. Even under the powerdrain of the Shadowcurse Prison, Berserkion(2800/2800) was a warrior to contend with. "Berserkion attacks Shekhinaga!" The berserker magnet warrior charged his lightning rod sword and slammed it into the earthen Shaddoll. Two powerful storms collided, but Martels fusion was the one to face defeat and split into thunder particles.

Martel's LP: 5900

"..." Martel appeared slightly annoyed at this loss. Nonetheless his monster's death at least activated the spell/trap retrieval effect that all El Shaddolls carried and returned Shaddoll Core to his hands. "No more words? That's not what I want either! Are you only good at lying!?" Shekhinaga was gone and so were her powers. Berserkion was free to use whatever effect it wanted. "Berserkion can destroy one card on my opponents field each turn, if I banish a Magnet Warrior from my graveyard!" Berserkion planted his rod into the floor and absorbed Alpha the Magnet Warrior from the graveyard. "I will destroy that accursed prison!" The absorbed lightning broke free and struck the continuous spell, destroying the shadow container and letting light back into the field. "Just make me who I was, tell me my past!" Bishop's eyes caught the unconscious Tara in the corner again. "I want to know, we deserve to know!" He placed a trap card in the backrow and let his turn end. "How could you desire.. your past? You do not know it."

"That sounds like a good reason to me!" Uno's voice came in, at the same time as a flash of light. "And I gotta thank you for giving me the perfect lead in line each time, Martel!" He emerged along with June and Anastasia. "Uno!" Alice let out a cry of relief. "Guys, you look okay. Are you? Those templars wouldn't let us follow you until we took them down." Uno asked. "Better than I expected. What about those other guys?" Tory replied. "Adamant and August? They're also okay. They went upstairs to help Dom, Iria and Zach.. Taking care of leftovers and.." It took him a while to notice that someone else was there too. "Hey, you're.." Bishop was a bit bewildered by the sudden intrusion, but not enough to take his eyes off his opponent. "You.. I dueled before. Then you have to understand. I must finish this myself." Bishop wanted to be clear about his feelings on interference. "It looks like you did a decent job already. You don't need anyone's help, Dorian."

"Wh..what did you say?" Bishop flinched. "Dorian. That's your name isn't it? Oh! Wait.. you didn't know, I am sorry." June slapped her cheek. "Wait.. if he doesn't know, how do you know? Did you pull it from his subconscious or something?" Uno inquired. The limits of her psychic powers were not quite clear. "No. I read _his_ mind." She pointed at Martel. "You.. took from me? From my mind?" The puppetmaster cursed. "Yes I did, _Timothy._ You are weak enough now, that I can see where it all started, and it started with that puppet of yours.."

(To be Continued in Redux 029: Fatal Attraction)

 **New Cards used by Bishop  
** Dummy Golem  
Block Dragon  
Alpha the Magnet Warrior  
Alpha the Electromagnetic Warrior  
Beta the Electromagnetic Warrior  
Gamma the Electromagnetic Warrior  
Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior

-  
Gachi Gachi Gantetsu

-  
Catapult Zone

 **New Cards used by Martel  
** Shaddoll Squamata

-  
El Shaddoll Winda  
El Shaddoll Shekinaga

-  
Curse of the Shadow Prison  
Shaddoll Fusion

-  
Shaddoll Core


	62. Fatal Attraction

**Redux 29: Fatal Attraction**

"Dorian?.. My name is.." There it was, Bishop heard his true name. It sounded utterly alien to him. "And Martel's not his name?" The one who took that away from him was called Timothy. But not anymore. "How did you find.. me?" The one who told him all that was this strange blonde-haired woman. But then, he was surrounded by strange people. "It's what I do. My powers lets me see into the minds and memories of others, and my pendulum allows me to use it in this world where the power source was lost. In his mind I see a young boy, a lonely boy who had no friends or family. An orphan who moved through a normal life, in a normal school with normal foster parents. He was not happy. Then.. one day.. he came upon that." She aimed her finger at the black and crystal-eyed doll in Alice's arms. "That pendulum stores the power to control minds, Timothy learned that quickly when he found that doll in the middle of the park during one of his lonesome walks. So he started making friends, against their will." June's eyes fell on the unconscious Queen. "Tara was the first. Someone he loved, but couldn't get to love him in return. You, Dorian. Were the second. Just a classmate of his, but a duelist as well. He wanted friends and allies. That's why he chose you."

"That's..why?" Bishop was horrified. All of this began for such petty reasons? "You cannot take from me, what is mine. Not my mind." Martel protested. "I didn't take, Timothy. I just borrowed. I am sorry, but the answers you hold had to be shared." She gave him a faint smile as the glowing eye symbol faded from her forehead. "No. Timothy is dead. I am Martel.. the King, I was the King the moment I found Her." Martel insisted as he took his turn. "Just give it up man, you're outnumbered five to one!" Tory cursed. "I am one and I am all. And all can never lose!"

Bishop's LP: 1900 Martel's LP: 5900

Martel flipped his face-down monster: Shadoll Hedgehog(3/800/200). "It came to me, this power. To me alone." The Hedgehog's flip effect added another Shadoll spell to his hand; Nephe Shaddoll Fusion. "With this spell, any element is within my grasp." Nephe Shaddoll Fusion was equipped to the Hedgehog, which altered the doll's attribute into that of Light. "FUSION SUMMON!" And this equipment did not have Fusion in its name for nothing. Nephe Shaddoll Fusion took the equipped monster and a Shaddoll Beast in Martels hand as fusion materials. Thanks to Shaddoll Beast's effect, Martel drew one card. "El Shaddoll Construct!" When dolls of Light and shadows mixed, they formed the giant woman(8/2800/2500) construct in purple and gold. "It's her.. again." Alice remembered her from the previous fusions: this lady formed the base of the fallen Shekhinaga and the still living Infernoid assimilate Anoyatyllis(9/2700/2000). "The first fusion he ever made." June claimed. "She was the card that gave him his power? Where did it come from?" Uno wanted to know. "Not even he knows. His mind never asked."

"When the Construct appears, one of my Shaddolls leaves the deck." Martel activated the Construct's effect to send a Shaddoll Dragon to his graveyard. "And now, your trap will be destroyed, my pawn!" That trap was the only thing keeping Bishop save from total obliteration. "Not before I activated it!" But Bishop already flipped the trap face-up before the Construct could resolve her own effect. "Sealing Ceremony of Mokuton! I know you want to take advantage of my weakest monster, so I will tribute it!" The ceremonial trap demanded sacrifices of the earth-attribute. It was a demand Dokidoki(2/500/500) could meet. "And I'll remove your two fusion spells!" Afterwards two cards would be banished from the graveyard. Mokuton sealed away El Shaddoll Fusion and Nephe Shaddoll Fusion. Only afterwards could the discarded Shaddoll Dragon destroy the continuous trap. "Then you shall lose your greatest monster instead." The fused Shaddoll moved to attack Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior(8/3000/2800). "The Construct destroys any who were special summoned." The Magnawarrior was overpowered by Construct's strings of bloodred energy and was, despite its powerful struggles, torn limb from limb.

"Guh.. When Berserkion is destroyed, his banished components will return to my field!" The Magnawarrior disconnected into the Electromagnet Warriors Alpha(4/1700/1100), Beta(4/1500/1500) and Gamma(3/800/2000). "The effects of Alpha and Beta will reactivate!" Now that they were special summoned again, Alpha could add a new MagnaWarrior card from the deck to the hand, and Beta could claim another level 4 or lower Magnet Warrior. Bishop took a second Berserkion and a second Alpha Electromagnet Warrior from his deck. "And while its still your turn, the Electromagnet Warriors can tribute themselves to summon level 4 Magnet Warriors from my deck!" The electric knights combined their shield, sword and fists to build up a charge which consumed their bodies. "I summon Alpha, Beta and Gamma the Magnet Warrior in defense mode!" The electricity exploded outwards and three lightning bolts impacted with the floor. The original grey, yellow and pink magnet knights: Alpha(4/1400/1700), Beta(4/1700/1600) and Gamma(4/1500/1800) came to life. "Whoa. Havent seen those in ages." Eric did not even duel during the days those cards were brand-new. "Maybe that shows, just how old Bishop really is." Uno thought out loud. Bishop might have looked young, but that was only because Martel kept his body in card-form for so long.

"..." Seeing as how all three Magnet Warriors were rock monsters, and Catapult Zone was still on the field, attacking with Anoyatyllis was not worth Martels time. Instead the puppetking placed two trap cards down and ended his turn. "I will get you this time, Martel!" With three Electromagnet Warriors back in the graveyard, Bishop could banish them all. First he normal summoned the second Alpha Electromagnet Warrior(3/1700/1100) from his hand, using its effect to add another Magnawarrior from his deck. "I add Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!" Duelists could only summon one Berserkion per turn, so this Alpha gave Bishop a more retro Magnawarrior instead. One Berserkion was plenty. "I special summon Berserkion again!" The Alpha, Beta and Gamma Electrowarriors in the graveyard combined their bodies and transformed into Berserkion(8/3000/2800). "You still believe, you can be someone without me. That also is an error." Martel smiled briefly, as he activated Super Polymerization by discarding Shaddoll Fusion from his hand. "That card!" Uno gasped. "Bishop, he is going to use your monster!"

"No. No not again!" Bishop shouted. "Super Polymerization targeted the Berserk Magnawarrior and fused it with the reactivated Shaddoll Core trapmonster(9/1450/1950) to summon El Shaddoll Shekhinaga(10/2600/3000), the Qliphort Construct fusion. The spell recycling effect of Shaddoll Core was also activated with its trip to the graveyard, and Shaddoll Fusion moved itself back to Martels hand. "the guardians." Anastasia let out a startled cry now. "Oh, so you did meet them before." June noted. "And so has he. In fact his fusion choices are oddly familiar, wouldn't you say?" Ritual Beasts, Stellarknights, Yang Zing; all of them were corrupted by the Shaddoll's curse. "But you never fought him before?" Uno asked her. "No. As I said, this boy was born in this world. The power found him, and that is the binding element. That puppet somehow ties to us, you, Tempus and the time guardians." It felt like there was an unseen presence at work.

"I don't care about any of that! It's Martel who chose to do this to me! I summon Valkyrion!" By tributing Alpha, Beta and Gamma, they could combine into Valkyrion the Magnawarrior(8/3500/3850). "And I activate another field spell: Magnetic Field!" A magnetic chamber rose up around the two duelists, destroying the zone of catapults in the process. "Electromagnet Warrior Alpha attacks El Shaddoll Shekhinaga!" It seemed suicidal, but the electric lancer threw his weapon at the earthen Shaddoll. Shekhinaga deflected the lance and slammed Alpha into the ground for daring to strike it. However.. "Magnetic Field can return one monster on the field to a players hand if they survive a fight with one of my rock monsters!" A static charge was left behind by the destroyed Alpha. The static evolved into a fierce storm that electrocuted Shekhinaga to death. "And Valkyrion destroys Anoyatyllis!" The combined magnet warrior raised its sword to the ceiling to infuse it with thunder and lightning. With one vertical swing, the Infernal Shaddoll of water was cleaved from head to toe. "This wont end until your power is broken!"

Bishop's LP: 1000 Martel's LP: 5200

"Until you are free? You want to live again? You want to die? These worlds are already counting down to zero. To save it, all must be one. Not just the planets, the people too." Martel's turn began. "You are talking about Phoebe's plan? The one where you fuse both worlds together, with that super fusion card?" Uno heard that from Adamant and Iria. Among the many fantastical events he'd heard or seen, this one still seemed too out there. "It was not her plan. It was mine. When I got the power, I got the words. The fusion guild came together, because of me, because I knew how to save it." He proclaimed. His words worked better on some than others. "Would you really.. save everyone.. that way?" Alice wanted to believe it, that both worlds could come together. "There was power like that once. I would know, I lived in one of those times." June placed her hands together. "Back when there were still realms for spirits, one being tried to fuse them all together. A spell, just like the one he just used, was the key to the whole process. In fact you would be surprised at how many times this planet got separated into multiple dimensions in past timelines."

"But.." She pulled her hands back. "I can see the plan you're proposing. You want to use the power you took from the guardians of time and that spell, to turn the whole world into energy. You can call it a 'carding' on a grand scale. Those with counterparts will be fused together, people like Eric over there.." She pointed at both Stonewell and Eric. "Will become one man in a new world, and forget who they used to be." Eric and Alice flinched. "What?""That's horrible!" They both yelled. "That's your plan!? No wonder you didn't ask for help, you'd know I would never go along with that!" Uno yelled. "You helped regardless, lord." Martel took a card from his belt and tossed it to Uno. "!?" It was his Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. "We took the code and uncovered Doms secrets. Now all we need.. is time." Martel placed two trap cards face down, including the Shaddoll Core trap that he retrieved when Shaddoll Anoyatyllis was destroyed. "End turn." But he did not attack with the Construct, doing so would just cause Magnetic Field to take away the one monster he still controlled.

"Is that why I can't remember anyone? Because you wanted me to merge with my other half? There is no way I would let you do that to anyone!" Bishop drew his next card. "It has already begun, whether you want it or not. One will be all, all will be one." His opponent kept up the taunts. "You.." In his anger, Bishop nearly made a miscalculation. "I can send Valkyrion to my graveyard to resummon its components! And when I control a level 4 or lower rock monster, Magnetic Field can summon one from my graveyard!" The idea was to bring back Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior and grab the last Berserkion with its effect. "You..." Except, there was one trap on Martels field that Bishop could not get rid of. And he knew from experience what kind of traps Martel used. If it was the trap he was thinking of, his entire combo would stumble over itself at the first step. "I know you." Despite Martel's constantly tired appearance, Bishop could see subtle changes to his expression that betrayed his thoughts. "I will set a trap card too and pass my turn."

"What!? Why?" Though Tory and the others did not see why. "Let him do what he wants." June did, but she kept herself quiet. A smile was the only hint she gave. "You did not fall for it." Martel was disappointed. "Then I will force your fall upon you, as I have done to others. You are all so blind." Martel placed a monster face-down and activated his trap card. "Sinister Shadow Games. One Shaddoll leaves my deck, and all monsters who hide will hide no more." The trap flipped Shaddoll Falco(2/600/1400) face-up, and sent the third Shaddoll Dragon to the graveyard. "I knew it." The discarded Shaddoll Dragon destroyed Magnetic Zone. That's how Martel would have countered Bishop in his turn, by killing the field spell. "Your king knows you too." The flipped Falco placed one Shaddoll from the graveyard, Shaddoll Squamata, face-down on the field. "Earth, fire, water, light, wind.. We know them all." The king re-activated Shaddoll Core, summoning the shadowheart trapmonster(9/1450/1950) and transforming its attribute into that of the wind. And via Shaddoll Fusion, the Core and Falco were turned to fusion materials. "FUSION SUMMON! El Shaddoll Wendigo!"

"Hmm." June was admittedly a bit surprised, when her own Ulti-Beast Pettlephin(6/200/2800) popped up on the field in defense mode. Pettlephin was corrupted by the Shaddolls core just like all other fusions. "Did I read you right, my pawn?" Martel made El Shaddoll Construct attack the Magnawarrior. "Tch... I activate my trap. Magnet Force. Your effects cannot affect my rock monsters his turn." A magnetic barrier coated Valkyrion like a second skin. It repulsed the Shaddoll's threads and sent them back to her. "I did." Martel snapped his finger to activate Wendigo's effect. Once each turn the corrupted Ultibeast could keep another monster safe from destruction during battle. The Wendigo created a whirlwind with her staff and warded off Valkyrions counterattack. Though Martel still took battle damage. "I can see the future better than any other, my pawn. You are choosing death or me, there is no third road." He placed one trap card down and ended his turn.

Martel's LP: 4500

"Can you? Can you see what I am about to draw then, Timothy?" Bishop waited before he used his drawphase. "You think you kept me safe, but you were just using me! I don't care if everything ends, a life like mine might as well be death. Draw!" Bishop did not know a lot, but he knew the duel had to end this turn, or he would be ended. "I activate.. Magnet Reverse!" But his deck did not abandon him. "I can special summon one rock or machine from the graveyard, if it cannot be summoned in a normal way!" Berserkion qualified for that position, and that was the monster whose death was reversed. "Once.. more?" Berserkion entered the battlefield to support his brother in arms; Valkyrion. "Yes, this card. Berserkion will destroy one of your cards after it banishes a Magnet Warrior from the graveyard. And.. it can use this effect as many times as it wants!" Berserkion removed all three Magnet Warriors and the Electromagnet Warrior Alpha, to give his weapon four charges. "I destroy your four cards!" It unleashed the thunder and electrocuted El Shaddoll Construct, Wendigo, Squamata and a Black Cat-astrophe trap card. "But you are.." All that was left, was to attack. "I am not your Bishop or your Pawn. I can do what I want!" Valkyrion and Berserkion struck at once, sending thousands of volts directly after Martel. "No. Nrghaaa!"

Martel's LP: 0

"Whoa!" The last hit sent Martel crashing into the barrier. "Is it.. over?" Bishop couldn't believe it. "I think that did it." Uno did not see the King get up from that. "Yeah, uhm.. congrats. I am glad one of us did " Tory said as she dismissed the barrier. "But is he.. at least still alive?" Alice asked. "What, you're feeling sorry for him?" A baffled Eric asked her back. "No, but.. he still knows so much. If.." She crept closer and closer to him, until.. "NO!" Martels arm snapped upwards. "Eek!" Alice flinched and stumbled backwards. Martel was not trying to grab her however, he snatched for the puppet from her arms. "No. I still have you, I still have.." He held it now, and held it close. Madness contorted Martel's expression. "I have you!" He placed his hand on the doll's crystal eye. "He's getting away!" Tory yelled. The purple crystal glowed, the glow was not strong enough to cover the puppetmaster. "You.." Martel stared into the dolls eyes, and his gaze turned vacant. It was as if he saw something no one should ever witness. "...ah.." Then his eyes glazed over, and his body went limp.

"What.. what happened to him?" Alice stammered. "I..do not know." June stated, shaking her head. "His mind.. turned away." There were no thoughts to be found, at all. "A coma?" Tory carefully nudged the puppetmaster. He made no movements, sudden or not. A pulse and breath was his body's only sign of life. "that doll.. " Anastasia bent down and picked it up. "Ana. Be careful!" Uno yelled. But nothing happened. "..do you have any idea where that crystal could have come from?" June inquired. "...i do not recognize it, father did not say how many before us there were." She knew it was not going to do her any good to lie to the telepath. Though she wanted to be sure Uno did not misunderstand her either. "He must have been a busy man?" Uno could not remember if Tempus ever told him either. "they did not always make it to the next world. but their crystals did. the pendulum is the only thing that can never be erased from time." June stared at the sister for a long time. "You're not lying at least. You're saying someone else put this pendulum on a puppet?" Martel found the doll this way, it was not his idea to use a crystal for an eye. "that is what i believe." Anastasia would keep it to herself for now.

"So.." Eric coughed. "What are we supposed to do now? Do we keep him here?" This was the infirmary after all. "Let him lie there, we're done with him." Bishop gave his opinion and kicked Martels body for good measure. "Ah.." Alice winced. "But if he wakes up, he might be able to tell us where the rest of the guild is." They had no other leads but him. "Weren't we supposed to stop that Marco jerkhead first? You know, end of the world type of deal?" Tory said. "That was the plan, and the reason why I brought June and August here. But apparently that was not good enough."

"To find someone like him we need December and January. August might not admit it, but without December we really don't have any guidance. He is the one who brought us together, who always knows where and when we need to show up. He can see the future, basically." She told Tory. "Oh, stellar. Then how do you get him?" They did say he was in a whole different dimension, possibly. "For that I suggest we focus on finding the fusion guild first. You told me they had a gateway that can break the dimensions." She pointed at Uno. "Get the gate, and you get my companions, and they will get your brother. It is as easy as that. And you won't need to question the puppetmaster." She tapped the side of her head. "I already read his mind to see where their base is."

(To be Continued in Redux 028: Monsters)

 **New Cards used by Bishop  
** Beta the Magnet Warrior  
Gamma the Magnet Warrior  
Valkyrion the Magna Warrior

-  
Magnetic Field  
Magnet Reverse

-  
Sealing Ceremony of Mokuton  
Magnet Force

 **New Cards used by Martel  
** El Shaddoll Wendigo

-  
Nephe Shaddoll Fusion

-  
Sinister Shadowgames


	63. Monsters

**Redux 28: Monsters**

"Well. This place cleaned up nicely." Uno was told that the fight at the throne room had been intense. But he could not even spot any signs of that when he returned there. "What happened to all of Martels.. followers?" He asked Iria, one of the few who who could retell the story. "Why are you asking me like I am in charge? It is bad enough that all the palace guards are confusing me for the Inquisitor." She grumbled. "The enforcers are taking care of them, putting them in the infirmary for now." This report sounded rather familiar to the one who used to be called Bishop. "With a barrier wall I presume?" He was here for different reasons. "A lot of them came from the Monument. We need to sort those out. I meant no offense." Iria said. "I took none." He shrugged. "Bishop.. no.." Uno corrected himself. "Dorian. Now that we have your real name, we know where your family is. Have you thought about what you want to do?"

"I.. I don't know. I thought things would be better once Martel was.. gone. But I still don't remember them well." Even now he responded to the name 'Bishop' more than to his own name. "I don't know how long I have been gone. Going back to those people now.. would be like going back to strangers." Bishop sighed. "Strangers huh." Uno looked at the corner of the room, where Anastasia lingered. "I am positive that will change. Maybe you can see June about that. The bottom line is though, you are free now and so is your mind." Uno knew a thing or two about amnesia. He could tell Bishop a hundred things, but he did not want to make this all about him again. "your family will appreciate your return, even if you cannot." Anastasia mused. "I agree. If nothing else, you can give them good news." Iria added her two cents as well. "I guess that does make it worth it in the end.. And Martel, will never haunt anyone again." Bishop could not remember when he was this relaxed either. It was a blessing. "no he will not.." Anastasia held the odd doll in her hands. "You are welcome to stay, if you need time to think." Uno offered. "No. I think I will go today. A new life begins now." Bishop decided. "Okay. Then I guess this is goodbye for now. Good luck Dorian." Uno nodded. "Thank you, lord Fortuno."

"Please, call me Uno."

...

"Man. Am I glad to get out there!" Eric barged into the recovery room. "Oh, sorry. I forgot..." He toned his volume down when he saw Tory and Alice watching over his mother, an unconscious James and Stonewell. "Hey Eric. You look better." Alice smiled. "Should you be walking already?" Tory raised an eyebrow at eric's rather fast recovery. "Sure! Uno showed me one of those treatment pods further down the aisle. They revitalized me right away. It was just a bit cramped in there." He stretched his arms until they made a popping sound. "Ow, okay. Bad idea." He laughed his pain away. "The hospitals these days must really be awesome." Alice couldn't see any bruises or clothing damage. That pod fixed everything. "Yeah, although not everyone can afford one apparently." Tory had never seen the inside herself. Luckily she didn't need one. Stonewell on the other hand. "I don't think they can treat him. Uno would definitely have let everyone use it if they could." Alice figured the pods only worked on physical ailments. "Just let them wake up on their own time. My mom'd probably like a rest from all the craziness anyway." Eric said.

"But please you have to let me join you on the mission!" They heard someone shout. "Hm?" Out of the corner of his eye Adamant talking with someone else. "Ohey! You're that pawn guy! When did you get back up?" He shouted once he recognized the other duelist as the one from Martels first club. "Sir?" The man flinched. "At ease. He is an ally." Adamant calmed him down. "Eric. This is private Winters. Winters this is Eric." He introduced the two. "Yo! What mission were you talking about?" Eric asked. "The mission to infiltrate the fusion guild. I told Winters that he was not fit for duty yet." Adamant commanded. "But sir!" Winters protested again. "That's the last I'll hear of it, Winters." Adamant raised his hand. "Bummer, dude." Eric chuckled. "The same goes for you, Eric." The XYZ-duelist said with a firm tone. "What? Aww why? I can help!" He whined. "That I do not doubt. But I'd rather see both of you regain your energy the normal way before throwing yourself at danger for our sake." Adamants words were final. He turned away. "But, you can wish us luck." He walked out of the room, leaving the two in silence.

"Okay.. Good luck!" Tory bellowed.

...

"So if we know where they are, what are we waiting for?" Was what August wanted to know, as he paced from one end of the enforcers office to the other. Thanks to June they could prepare an attack on the fusion guild, but he would rather skip the planning part and go right to it. "We need to be prepared. We don't know how many duelists the guild will have stationed at their headquarters." Zach stated the facts. "Not to mention all the stuff they pilfered from my vault. Pilfer is too nice a word! They outright ransacked me!" Dom growled. "That is to say; the guild will have the cards that normal duelists were never meant to have." Zach clarified. "We have faced powers like that ourselves. If you have us on your side, you wont need anyone else!" August boasted. "The main focus is getting 'someone else', August." June coughed. "If we can secure the portal, we can bring December and January in. Luckily, infiltration is my specialty." If it was up to her, they would not even need to duel. "Tch. Stealth is no way to proceed. All our enemies must be stomped into the ground."

"While you phrase that very nicely, I have to agree with June." Iria and Adamant walked into the office. "I have spoken with Uno. He'll come with us as expected. We need his help to reach the location at any rate." The Nisells were the only ones who could use their crystals to teleport somewhere. "Yeah. Why can't you two do that trick anyway? With the flashing and all." Dom bluntly asked the two timetravelers. "Because a pendulum is not a tool that comes with basic skills, you need to add powers to it on its own. January was our traveler. I chose to let it enhance my telepathic powers and August went with physical and regenerative feats." She prodded his muscular arm. "Yes, because of me that you still look as young, June."

"Madam Silver! I think we found Lord Amadeus, check the network!" One enforcer suddenly yelled, breaking up the meeting. "For the last.. What?!" She quickly turned the disk on. "What is he.." Marco's face popped up, it was a virtual message against an open sky background. [Good afternoon, My dear Family and Honored citizens of the Union.] His voice not only came from the device, but it was heard throughout the city. "Where is this coming from?" Adamant shouted. He could see his face on every screen. "From all over, it's uploaded to the network and its live!" One enforcer claimed. "Then the whole world is seeing this!?" From the infirmary to the outside of the palace to the throne room itself; Marco caught every eye. [Allow me To introduce myself. I am your Lord Marco Amadeus Nisell.] Marco bowed to his audience. "He's giving his identity away? Why is he doing this?" Uno did not understand how this could benefit his brother. "we were never supposed to.." Anastasia feared it would get worse than that. [And this Is my family]

"!?" And it did. Marco posted two images on the screen, of his own brother and sister. [Christopher Fortuno Nisell and Winnifred Anastasia Nisell. Together we are the Founders of Millennium. You may be Wondering why I am Telling all of You this now. Because it is Time for a Change. The system we Built has become Corrupted. My brother let his Power go to his Head. He did Horrible things in the Name of Peace. And the Proof is there.] He flashed other images on the screen, documents about the creation of the carding system and the Monument. [He created the Templars, he Arrested Innocents to preserve his Own glory. And Now, he Cast me Out when I tried to Stop him. So I ask you now, you who Enjoyed the Peace we started. Fight him, Fight him as Duelists or as Warriors. But Fight him, and do not let the Union crumble under his Sins] His face turned to the center of the screen. [Christopher. I know You are watching this Too. So please, Surrender now, and Prevent bloodshed. Let this.. be a new Beginning] The screen blacked out, the message was over. "marco.."

"Marco.. what the heck was that? Is he trying to tear the union down from within? He's accusing me of things he's done himself!" Uno could not believe the things he heard. "not.. all of them. your designs for the monument helped create the templars." Anastasia checked the video again, the documents were attached as separate files. It would be impossible to completely deny Uno's involvement. "If we had time, the Union could solve this. But time is what we don't have. This is exactly what Marco wants, to keep me busy. But why now.. why.. Oh!" Uno realized that this was timed purposefully. "The prisoners!" He opened a channel with the throne's console. "Iria. I presume you've seen that video too. Did you find all the prisoners?" If one of them saw that video, they would not be too happy. "We rounded up all that we could find. But we compared their number to what's missing from the Monument's records and there are a few unaccounted for." There was good and bad news. "No.." And the bad news kept coming; an enforcer ran into the room. "My lord. There's a situation at the bridge! One of Martels followers escaped the palace and took a hostage. He wants to talk to the Lord!"

"Oh no." Uno got up immediately. "you don't.." Anastasia knew what he was about to do. "I do. I am the lord." He grabbed his pendulum..

An instant later he appeared on the bridge, in between the two parties. "Okay. I showed up. What do you want" The enforcers were forming a barricade on one end. "My Lord, you should not be here!" Meanwhile on the other side was the hostage taker, a man with short unshaven beard, black hair, and a grey labcoat. "There you are. I do not know how you did it, but I suppose that's another invention of you Lords." He held a dueldisk on one arm and an unfortunate citizen from the villa area in the other. "Yes. You have me now. You don't need him. We can talk about this." Uno held his hands up. "There is nothing left to say that your 'brother' has not already said. But, if I have your attention." The man let the guy go, who hurriedly scampered off towards the enforcers. "I do not need anything else!" The man himself activated his dueldisk and challenged Uno. "Lord Nisell!" The guards grabbed their own decks. "Leave it. I will handle this." Uno stepped forward and prepared his cards. "What is your name? Where do you come from?" If he was going to duel someone, he at least wanted to know more about them. "Rujan. And you know where I came from, you were the one who put me inside that two-dimensional prison!"

Rujan's LP: 8000 Uno's LP: 8000

"A duel it is then." Uno sighed. The two players started drawing. "Even the machines take your side." Rujan scoffed when the dueldisk gave Uno the first turn. "I do not control the network, Rujan." Uno placed his two pendulums on the field; Performapal Camelump (Scale 2) and Performapal Lizardraw (scale 6). "And you think you can placate me with innocent looking monsters?" The opponent growled. "I am sorry if you were expecting something monstrous." Uno activated the effect of Lizardraw, tributing it from the pendulum zone to draw one card. Then he placed Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn (Scale 8) in the empty zone. "Pendulum summon!" Using their scales, Uno could summon Lizardraw(3/1200/600) from the extra deck and Performapals Longphone Bull(4/1600/1200) from his hand in defense mode. "Longphone Bull lets me add a non-pendulum Performapal to my hand!" The bulls horn-phone rang and called in a Performapal Elephammer with its noise. "I summon this guy too!" While Uno controlled two Performapals, the hammer-trunk elephant(6/2600/1800) could be summoned without tributes. "I set a card and end my turn!"

"You are not fooling anyone with your act, Lord Nisell!" Rujan drew his card and activated it. .. "Kyoutou Waterfront!" The spell spread out over the river around the bridge. A japanese tower sprang out from the water. Each time a monster was sent to the graveyard, one Kaiju counter would be added to this Kyoutou tower. "The Kaiju?" Now Uno recognized what he was up against. "Yes, you know this deck. You made it to soothe a nation that no longer exists. Just another example of your naivety... I know what kind of monster you truly deserve!" He placed one monster on the field, on Uno's side. "Geez." Performapal Longphone Bull was sacrificed and replaced with a giant spider monster(7/2400/2500). "Kumongous the Sticky String Kaiju! Each Kaiju can be summoned to the opponents field by tributing one of their monsters!" Meanwhile the field spell gained its first Kaiju Counter. "And.. when a Kaiju terrorizes my enemy's side, I can special summon one to my zones!" Rujan summoned another monster, the intergalactic dark giant Kaiju Radian(7/2800/2500). "And I activate Upstart Goblin!" By giving Uno 1000 lifepoints, Rujan could draw one new card and add another counter to the Waterfront.

Uno's LP: 9000

"Radian creates one copy of itself by removing two Kaiju counters from the field. Only one Kaiju can be face-up on each side, but tokens do not count towards that!" Radian took two of the counters on the Waterfront and formed a shadowy duplicate(8/2800/0) of its own body. "Time to rid the field of these lies! Radian attacks Performapal Lizardraw!" The dimensional giant launched a black hole blast towards the dapper lizard. "Not so fast!" Uno countered with his gambling quickplay spell; Roulette Spider! "We'll have to see who gets attacked!" The spider attached itself to Radians face and made the wheel spin. "Are you going to let luck make your decisions?" Rujan yelled, as the wheel stopped on the third slot. "Oh!" That was not one of the better outcomes. Roulette Spider still pointed at Uno's field, forcing Radian to attack one of his other monsters. "Then I change the attacktarget to Kumongous!" At the very least he could mitigate the losses this way, Radian slaughtered the spider with ease. "One time when a monster dies to your cards, Lizardraw can draw one card for each Performapal I control!" Since he controlled two, Uno drew twice. "Gheh." The Radian token attacked as well and sucked Elephammer into another dimension.

Uno's LP: 8400

"I activate Creature Swap!" Rujan used a spell next, which forced two monsters on the field to change positions. Rujan gave Uno the original Radian Kaiju. "You really want me to have your monsters, dont you?" Since Uno controlled just one card, he could only give Performapal Lizardraw to Rujan. "You wouldn't know what I want, Lord. So you wont get what you want! Kyoutou Waterfront has three counters!" Three more cards entered the graveyard (Roulette Spider, Elephammer, Creature Swap). "Once each turn, when my field spell has three or more, It can take the next Kaiju from my deck!" Rujan claimed a level 8 monster. "Gameciel! I tribute the token and your monster to summon it!" Gameciel the winged Sea Turtle Kaiju(8/2200/3000) was tribute summoned in defense mode by the Kaiju spell. At the very least pendulum monsters couldn't go to the graveyard, so the sacrificed lizard didn't give the Waterfront any more Kaiju counters. "Kaiser Colosseum!" But now a circular arena rose up next to the tower, and trapped the two duelists on the sandy battleground. "Ah! You're limiting my monsters?" This was not good. Kaiser Colosseum prevented Uno from using more monsters than his opponent. "Exactly." Rujan placed a trap down and ended his turn.

"In that case.. I activate my spell, Pendulum Storm!" If Uno wanted to get anything done, the Colosseum would have to be the first target. "You wont get off that easily! Gameciel can negate a card or effect and banish it by removing two Kaiju counters from anywhere on the field!" Rujan took the two counters from Kyoutou Waterfront and Gameciel pulled the water from the river up to sweep Pendulum Storm away with a tidal wave. "I figured you would, Rujan. But.. you are right about one thing, when it comes to me." There was only one Kaiju counter left, this was Uno's chance. "I know the cards! I activate Pendulum Rising!" The Kaiju Radian transformed into a portal of light. "What!?" And Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon(7/2500/2000) dashed through the portal. "Pendulum Rising can sacrifice one monster to summon a pendulum monster from my deck with the same level!" It had been a while. Thanks to Martel, Uno could use his trusty dragon once more. "This is who I am, Rujan. Uno the duelist, not Fortuno the lord!" The red dragon charged the sea dragon and smashed its shell open, destroying the Kaiju.

Rujans LP: 7400

"You expect me to believe that this is who you are?" Rujan started his turn. "Your brother exposed you, Lord!" He reactivated Kyoutou Waterfront (which now had 3 counters due to Pendulum Rising and Gameciel going to the graveyard) to add Gadarla the Mystery Dust Kaiju to his hand. "I activate a continuous spell, Kaiju Files! Kaiju Files adds one Kaiju counter, each time a Kaiju appears! So, disappear!" He tributed Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon for to summon the giant moth Gadarla(8/2700/2600) to Uno's field. "Now I can summon Dogoran, the Mad Flame Kaiju!" The giant fire reptile Dogoran(8/3000/1200) appeared on his side, and breathed his fire across the Colosseum. "Dogoran can skip his next attack to destroy all monsters on the field!" The fire reached Gadarla in the air and burned her to cinders.

"And now.. Kaiju Files' second effect! Each turn I can trade one Kaiju for another in my deck!" The original Dogoran vanished into the ground. And the earth split open to unveil a mechanized version of Dogoran(0/0). "Super Anti-Kaiju War Machine Mecha-Dogoran!" Mecha-Dogoran copied the attackpoints of dead Kaiju. The warmachine targeted Dogoran in the graveyard and it (3000/0) absorbed its power. "Tell me, Lord. Did your brother lie? Did you or did you not make the templars?" He asked before he made his direct attack. "...We both did, in a way." Uno would not lie. "You did it, is all I care about.." And Mecha-Dogoran struck Uno with pure white flames. "So you deserve the same fate you gave me. Lord Nisell! You see this?" Rujan touched his dueldisk. "I do not remember how or why, but that strange kid took me out and gave me this. And when I could walk again on my own, I made sure to keep it. This is the same kind of dueldisk you enforcers use when templars just aren't good enough. With this I can 'card' you, Lord.. And I will! I'll let you rot as a card for years to come!"

Uno's LP: 5400

(To be Continued in Redux 027: The Emperor's New Play)

 **New Cards used by Uno Nisell  
** Performapal Longphone Bull

 **Cards used by Rujan  
** Kumongous, the Sticky String Kaiju  
Radian, the Multidimensional Kaiju  
Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju  
Gadarla, the Mystery Dust Kaiju  
Dogoran, the Mad Flame Kaiju  
Super Anti-Kaiju War Machine Mecha-Dogoran

-  
Kyoutou Waterfront  
Upstart Goblin  
Creature Swap  
Kaiser Colosseum  
The Kaiju Files


	64. The Emperor's New Play

**Redux 27: The Emperor's New Play**

Uno's LP: 5400 Rujans LP: 7400

It was hard to defend your own case, when you did not have the emotional context for your own actions. "Look, I created the machines that turned people into cards, and my when my brother decided to use them for our enforcers, I did not stop him. But I had no idea who they were used on. Marco and his Inquisitors were the ones in control of that. I was the one cast out, not him." The best he could do was give the facts, and they did not seem to have a great effect. "Its not Lord Marco whom I trust. All I know is what I saw in those documents! How can I even accept your side of the story, when you Nisells have been hiding yourself from us from the start? The Union.. was that even something the leaders of the world decided upon? Or was it you all along?" Besides anger, Rujan only harbored more and more questions. "It was.. us.. but we just wanted a world where everyone was content!" Uno insisted. "While you just lock up those that didn't agree?" Rujan hissed. "I don't even know why you were locked up!" Not everyone was innocent. Or so Uno told himself. "It doesn't matter. I speak for everyone who was put through that hell. You wanted us out of the way, Lord. No more. You wont talk your way out of this!"

"Very well." It looked like the duel would continue, Uno could only summon one monster thanks to the Kaiser Colosseum. Rujan controlled one monster, Mecha Dogoran the Kaiju hunting Warmachine(8/3000/0), and Uno was not allowed to have more than his opponent. "Unless.." Uno took a monster from his hand. "I summon Timebreaker Magician!" The crowned temporal swordsman(3/1400/0) claimed the monsterzone. "Until my next turn, Timebreaker Magician can banish himself and one other monster! He will banish Mecha-Dogoran!" Timebreaker spun his sword in a clockwise direction, opening a gateway to the future. "What!? Tch!" Rujan activated a continuous trap. "Kaiju Capturing Mission! I can switch my Kaiju to face-down defense position to create a Kaiju Counter!" The Mechanic Kaiju was flipped down before it disappeared into the future dimension with Timebreaker. "I don't know why you did that but.. I do know that Kaiser Colosseum only counts when you're actually using monsters!" Rujan controlled nothing now, so Uno could have as many monsters as he wanted.

"Pendulum summon! Odd-Eyes, Lizardraw, Uni!" Performapal Camelump (scale 2) and Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn (scale 8) resurrected two pendulum monsters from the extra deck, the odd-eyed dragon(7/2500/2000) and the lizard gentleman(3/1200/600). Uno also pendulum summoned the playgirl dancer Performapal Uni(3/800/1500) from his hand. "When Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attacks, Odd-Eyes Unicorn can add give it the attackpower of another Performapal on the field!" Lizardraw jumped on the dragons back and channeled his power into the dragon(3700/2000) through the Unicorns horn. "Rujan, I attack directly!" Both the dragon and the lizard rushed to the other side of the arena and crashed into the prison duelist. "You.." And after that Performapal Uni declared her own attack, blowing heart bubbles at Rujan with a kiss. "No matter what monsters you use, you will always be a monster."

Rujans LP: 1700

"And.. I will not give up. You wont put me back!" Rujan drew his card. "Gameciel!" Since Kyoutou Waterfront still contained more than three Kaiju counters, Rujan could add a second Gameciel Kaiju monster to his hand with the spells effect. He also activated a Trade In spell, discarding a level 8 Gameciel to draw two cards. "Grrgh." Regrettably, this did not bring him what he needed to restart the Kaiju lock. There was but one solution. "...When Kaiju Files has three counters on it, it can selfdestruct to take a Kaiju spell or trap from my deck." The continuous spell broke down, for another spell. "I take this one, Interrupted Kaiju Slumber! Once I play this; two Kaiju will be special summoned from my deck to each side of the field, after all previous monsters are destroyed!" Odd-Eyes and the Performapal brigade were cast out of the arena as the floor cracked open. Two titanic beings fought each other and reached the surface. "Hey!?" Uno was given Mecha-Dogoran the warmachine(8/0/0). _"No attackpoints?!"_ Uno's graveyard was Kaiju-free, so there was nothing to give power to the mechanical Kaiju slayer. On the other side, Rujan could special summon his new monster. "Jizukiru Jizukiru the Stardestroying Kaiju! Attack Mecha-Dogoran!" Jizukiru, a metallic space dragon(10/3300/2600) flew up high and hovered over Uno. "Tsk." The space-kaiju bombarded Mecha-Dogoran until nothing but slagged metal remained.

Uno's LP: 2100

"You are behind me again, where you belong!" Rujan placed another trap card down on his field. "And you wont get another chance to catch up! This is the end for you, Lord!" He reactivated his first trap, Kaiju Capture Mission. "I target Jizukiru to switch it to face-down defense position! But when Jizukiru is targeted by a card effect. It can remove three Kaiju Counters from the field to negate that effect, and destroy one card on the field! I will take one counter from Capture Mission and two from Kyoutou Waterfront!" The spatial monster blocked the traps capture nets and fired a shot from its cannon claws. "That pendulum is what I want to see in ruins, Performapal Camelump!" The laserbeams hit the camel performapal and popped it like a balloon. "I end my turn!" When the turn moved back to Uno, Timebreaker Magician and the first Mecha-Dogoran Kaiju returned to the field. "So that's why you switched your monsters position." Uno noticed Kaiju monsters did not mind each other if one was face-down. But Mecha-Dogoran was helpless in defense mode, which was probably why Rujan wanted to get rid of Camelump with its defense piercing effects.

"Is the duel the only thing you can talk to me about, Lord? You are avoiding everything else!" Rujan roared. "Maybe I am. But it's the quickest way I can solve this solution! You challenged me, remember?!" Rujan didn't want to talk, this is what he would get. "I challenged you to show the world your true face! I wont just 'card' you when I win, Lord! I will get you to confess your sins to the whole world!" The man claimed, sweat coming down his forehead. "But what about after that, Rujan? What will happen to you?" Uno did not think he had thought his plan all the way through. "I.. I don't care!" He countered. "I think you do." Uno looked at his card. "I reactivate Timebreaker Magician!" The wielder of the time sword opened another gateway to the future of the next turn and targeted Jizukiru. "Did you already forget?" But Jizukiru countered the effect with its own effect. It removed three of Kyoutou Waterfront's five Kaiju counters to negate Timebreaker's power and to destroy the magician at the same time. "Or do you want to forget?"

"Trust me. Forgetting is not something I want to be good at. My dear brother disagreed... I activate Performapal Monkeyboard!" Camelumps former pendulum zone was now that of the keyboard monkey (scale 1). "When I activate Monkeyboard I can add one performapal monster to my hand!" Uno added a Performapal Trump Girl monster to his hand. And the pendulums were back in business. "You have two monsters, so that's how many I will pendulum summon! Come out, Odd-Eyes and Lizardraw! Fight the Kaiju!" His lizard and dragon pair returned, ready to launch another combo attack with the help of the Odd-eyed Unicorn. "But you are repeating yourself! You're taking me lightly!" Rujan activated his traps as the battle phase began. Kaiju Capture Mission flipped Jizukiru to face-down defense position, while a new trap flipped up. "Hero Switch! We both have the same number of monsters on the field! So yours will be switched with mine!" The face-down Jizukiru and Mecha-Dogoran switched places with Lizardraw and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. "This will not end before I say it does!"

"Ack." Uno couldn't very well use his battle phase with just face-down monsters. At least he could flip Jizukiru back face-up during the second main phase. Jizukiru had a shot at using its effect now. Mecha-Dogoran on the other hand was better off in defense mode. "Rujan. You have to believe me. The longer we fight, the closer my brother gets to what he wants. I admit that I did not always make the best mistakes, but I am not your enemy right now!" Uno pleaded, while he placed a trap card down and ended his turn. "You're all the enemy! I am just getting rid of the ones I can see!" Rujan started his turn. He used Kyoutou Waterfront's effect, with its four Kaiju Counters, to add a Kaiju to his hand that Uno hadn't seen yet. "Since you control a Kaiju, I can summon Thunderking the Lightning Strike Kaiju!" The clouds rumbled, and a bolt of lightning impacted with the Colosseum floor. Thunder King the three-serpentheaded dragon(9/3300/2100) spread its wings and shrieked at Uno's two monsters. "This monster can remove three Kaiju Counters from the field, to negate all your effects this turn! I.."

"I activate Performapal Showdown!" Uno was not going to wait around for that. "I flip cards face-down, one for each spell I control!" The Showdown trap paired off his two pendulum spells; Monkeyboard and Odd-Eyes Unicorn, against Thunder King and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. The two monsters were set face-down. "You.. " Rujan slammed a spell on his dueldisk. "Owners Seal! Control of all monsters turns back to their master!" The face-down Odd-Eyes and Performapal Lizardraw hovered back to Uno's side. "Oh?" But Jizukiru and the face-down Mecha-Dogoran appeared on Rujans side again. "Jizukiru attacks Lizardraw!" And Uno did not have enough lifepoints to survive a fight between the Performapal and the galactic Kaiju. "I banish two Performapals from my graveyard, Longphone Bull and Uni!" Fortunately he could activate Performapal Uni's effect from the graveyard. "Now I can't take damage from the first blow!" As Jizukiru destroyed Lizardraw, Uni reduced the battle damage to zero. "Why.. why won't you just accept it?" Rujan placed another trap card down on the field and gave control back to Uno.

"Because that would be the easy way out, Rujan. I can let it happen, I can let you take revenge, but that wont help anyone else. And it wont make you feel better in the long run either." Uno drew his card. "For.. a long time.. I only thought about the past. But now that I know what the future holds, I cannot dwell on what already happened. I can only own it... and learn from it." Uno normal summoned a monster, a little jester sorceress(2/400/400). "Performapal Trump Girl! When she's on the field, she can use herself and another monster as fusion materials! "First, I'll make an older mix! A spellcaster fused with the Odd-Eyes dragon creates Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" With his two monsters, Uno fusion summoned one of the dragons upgraded forms; the mystical gold-eyed Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon(8/3000/2000). "Rune-Eyes is unaffected by your card effects when he's fused with a pendulum summoned monster! And now!" Uno raised one card from his hand. "A pendulum summon!" As always, fusion matertial pendulum monsters went to the extra deck

"Are you learning from the past? Then what is this now?" Rujan reactivated Kaiju Capture Mission and targeted Jizukiru. "I negate my own trap's effect, to destroy your pendulum again!" Jizukiru took two Kaiju counters from Kyoutou Waterfront to countered Uno's move. Monkeyboard was destroyed before it could resolve. "That? Oh, just some misdirection." Uno set yet another pendulum from his hand; Performapal Le-Bellman the bellheaded bellhop(scale 1). "Pendulum summon!" Since Kaiser Colosseum's limit was now raised to three, Uno could summon Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Performapal Trump Girl right back to the field.

"One Performapal and one Odd-Eyes, together that makes Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon!" The performer and the dragon were melded together in her magical fusion vortex. "Vortex returns one monster in attack position back to the players deck!" The green dragon(8/2500/3000) escaped the vortex and redirected the winds towards Jizukiru. "No!" Rujan tried to chain to that effect by removing two more counters from Kyoutou Waterfront to activate Jizukiru's destruction effect. "Yes!" Uno countered with his fusions second effect. Odd-Eyes Vortex returned a pendulum (Performapal Lizardraw) from the extra deck to the main deck, and blocked the effect of Jizukiru alltogether. "Rujan. My two monsters against yours; lets fight!" Uno started the battle phase. "Rune-eyes can attack twice if a level four or lower spellcaster was used as his fusion material!" The dark dragon fired two beams of holy light from the golden halo on its back. It destroyed the face-down Mecha-Dogoran and Thunderking Kaiju. "And Odd-Eyes Vortex will attack directly!" The dragons whirlwind closed in on Rujan and dragged him up before slamming back to the bottom of the arena "Ghff!"

Rujans LP: 0

"My lord!" The enforcers rushed in the second the duel was decided. "Hey..." Uno'd forgotten his own audience, that's how caught up in the duel he was. In fact there was a pretty sizeable crowd gathered now; factory workers and the city's most wealthy occupants stood on or around the bridge to observe his duel. He could hear them talk, express worry and confusion about this mysterious duelist. Heh. If you are all wondering, I can tell you one thing. I _am_ the infamous Lord. My name is Christopher Fortuno Nisell, and I created Millennium." The buzzing evolved into an onslaught of questions once Uno gave them that tidbit. "Please. I can answer everything in due time, but I have a situation I need to fix first. For now just know that I have your best interests at heart. That man you saw on the screen was right about one thing.. the way things are now has to change. And I will change them."

"Ghh.. guh.. trying to unburden your conscience?" Rujan writhed on the ground, the holograms of his own fighting arena disappearing finally and left him with nothing but his anger. "He's still a threat." One enforcer grunted and he reached for his dueldisk. "No. Stop." Uno blocked the man. "Take his dueldisk away, but do not card him." He ordered. "But my lord." The others gave a few words of resistance. "What was this man in prison for anyway?" Uno countered him with a question. "Oh.. uhm. His records state that he was arrested for brutality during a protest rally." The enforcer admitted. "I see. Well, we are not going to send him back to the monument. In fact I want to start a re-evaluation of everyone who was incarcerated. Starting with him and the others in the palace." He trusted his men to obey, and he gave his opponent one last look. "I think I know what pushed you this far, Rujan. It's not up to me to judge you, though. I just hope, that I can make things right for you too." He nodded to him and took his crystal to warp away from the bridge.

...

When Uno got back to the throne room he found a few more people waiting there. "I can't believe you did that without even telling us!" Iria, Zach, Dom, Adamant, the Travelers and even Alice were gathered there now. "What if something happened to you?" Some were concerned, others were angered. "Guys. Guys. I know you're worried. But this was something I had to do too. And it all worked out." He tried to ease their anxiousness with a smile. "you couldn't have known that, uno. you never learn." Anastasia moaned. "So this is the kind of world you've created eh, Tempus junior?" August chuckled. "Tempus Junior? Is that what you're going with now?" Uno almost preferred 'Christopher' or 'Fortuno' over that. "Well I think it shows strength to want to change that. I know you really want it and are not just putting on a show for once. But there ya go." June shrugged. "Even so, he wasted his time and we nearly lost his pendulum!"

"Yeah. I'm really sorry. I guess I played into Marco's hands after all. Hopefully not for as long as he expected... I dont suppose network security managed to trace the source of that video or anything?" He asked the room. "No, the video came from the network and the source was lost. Likely a dueldisk that they destroyed by now." Adamant concluded. "Well he did something while I was distracted, or else he wouldn't have bothered. We'll just need to find him. I suppose that's what everyone is here for." Now was the time to see who would stay and who would go into the lions den with him. "The six of us should be enough for the raid." Iria explained while Dom started counting his fingers. "Iria, I think I count seven." He stopped at himself, as he did not count Anastasia. "That is because I think you should stay behind sir. For your own safety." She replied. "What!? Outrageous! Did you agree with that Zachary?" Zach solemnly nodded. "I will to go in your stead, sir. I am in your debt, and I do not want to use my own misfortunes as an excuse for idleness." Dom looked long at his disciple. "Well alright, you two convinced me. I'll monitor this from afar. That's also fun!"

"So who shall lead us into the base?" June asked. "Uh. We don't really do leaders, we just work as a team. We may not be mindreaders, but we've done alright so far." Uno recalled her groups usual interactions with their leader December less than fondly, but kept those thoughts to himself. "There are merits to leadership, it might be necessary to have someone take charge to prevent some from going off on their own." Adamant said and he made sure August noticed that his glare. "I guess that's true. Okay them you can lead us." Uno proposed happily. "You choose him?" August twitched. "Of course. He's been a leader, he knows how to coordinate duelists and he knows half of the people were are going to fight." It was not just the Fusion guild that was their opponent, Ichirou and the XYZ-guild were part of it as well. "Then I shall do so. But do not see me as a commander." Those days were behind him.

"Well, if Adamant is going. I am too!" Alice raised her voice. "Alice, are you sure? What did your dad say?" Uno was hesitant to let her come along. "Dad... is still sleeping. But we don't have time to ask him, do we?" She sounded sure of herself. "Let her come. I think she's proven herself." Adamant stood by her. "Aw, I can't say no to more friends. Alright, Alice. Just stay close to me and Adamant." Alice nodded fiercely to Uno's words. "The time-displaced girl is tagging along too now? Tch. Can we at least get a move on? We have wasted enough time!" The red duelist was at the end of his patience. "Yes yes. Uno can you come here?" June beckoned the lord. "I am going to give you the images I took from Martels mind. Focus on what you see and you will find the way into their base." She placed her hand on his forehead. "oooohkay. Do I need to close my eyes or.." Uno barely had time to prepare, he saw a dozen images run through his head. "Ow. Think I got it!" He pulled back. "Ana, Dom. Hold the fort while we're gone."

"Can do!" Dom waved them off. "goodbye.." Anastasia slowly lifted her hand. "We'll be back." Uno touched the pendulum crystal, and whisked the seven duelists away.

(To be Continued in Redux 026: Worst Case Scenario)

 **New Cards used by Uno Nisell  
** Performapal Le-Bellman **  
**

 **New Cards used by Rujan  
** Jizukiru, the Star Destroying Kaiju  
Thunder King, the Lightningstrike Kaiju

-  
Trade In  
Interrupted Kaiju Slumber  
Owner's Seal

-  
Kaiju Capture Mission  
Switch Hero


	65. Worst-Case Scenario

**Redux 26: Worst-Case Scenario**

"So this is the place?" Uno looked up at the sky. "I've seen taller." The fusion guilds headquarters was not something he would have gone looking into without clues; an office tower in the middle of a skyscraper-filled city. "Yes, this is the place Martel committed to memory, from the outside. As far as I know they own every floor." June and her mental investigations claimed. "And the reason you didn't just bring us inside immediately is.." Iria let her question linger. "Because I like to get a sense of things before I walk in anywhere. You see these people staring? Because of me they wont remember us the second they look away." The seven duelists were standing on the streets outside the tower, unnoticed by pedestrians, drivers or otherwise. "Isn't that like.. taking away part of their life?" Alice felt that sounded a little excessive. "That's why I never just drop in. The effect becomes immediate if I let it build up. I don't pick up a lot of minds in there, so it should be easy to walk around anyway."

"Is that so?" Adamant quietly walked through the front entrance. "Hmm." The people on the first floor didn't notice him or see the door open. "See?" June smiled. "Freaky.." Alice shivered. The others followed his lead, and were equally undetected. "Are they.. related?" Uno stared at those who could not even hear him; they were carrying dueldisks and guns. "They were merely hired as security for this place. They don't know what's up above." June said as she pointed to the ceiling. "Then we shall leave them." Adamant declared and he moved on to the stairwell. "Heh, I thought you enjoyed a good fight." August scoffed. "A worthy fight is not always the same as a good fight.. or a necessary one." Adamant ignored him. August would have to do what he said regardless. "Do you sense anything out of the ordinary?" Adamant asked as he looked up the stairs. "Can't pin the floor down. But I do." She said. "Then we shall go up until something changes."

"Are you okay, ms Brandt?" Zach asked Alice once they were passed the third floor. "Huh? Uhm.. yeah?" She didn't think she'd get a question at this point. "I apologize. I did not mean to pry. I just wanted to say that I was surprised that you came along. You're very brave." The disciple claimed, with an oddly afflicted expression on his face. "Really? I am still a little nervous. But I wanted to help. But it's not as scary as I thought it would be.. thanks to ms June. Her power is pretty cool." Alice thought things were going pretty well. "I see." He felt likewise... It did not take long for them to regret those thoughts. Barriers of light streamed down from the ceilings. "Ah! I didn't mean that!" They were cut off from the floor above and below. "A trap!" They could only move sideways, out of the stairwell and into the fourth floor. It was abandoned, save for an entourage of templar drones. "Where did these come from?" And while Iria cursed, one more person showed her face.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." Celeste hummed as she appeared on a large screen against the wall. "Marie.." Uno figured they would run into her, just not this soon. "She can see us?" Alice gasped. "Of course. We knew about that invisibility trick already, you used it against the synchro guild and dreamworld. Use as much telepathy as you like. It doesn't do you much good when my security cameras feed the images directly into my brain." She tapped the side of her head. "And I hope you don't mind me staying far away from her." She gave August and June a scowl. "You knew we were coming." Iria figured. "How did you know? Did you hack into the templar network? Everyone else was doing it." Alice asked her. "Please.. hack is such an ugly word. You met Martel, right? Well back when he briefly controlled the city, he gave me the opening I needed to get inside the net. Now all these lovely toys.. are mine and I know everything there is to know. I know you took this brute of a man from the Monument, for some reason. And then you got this woman to join your quest too. But I expected you a lot sooner. You gave me plenty of time to prepare. So.. _why_ did you even bother?"

"We came for the portal, Marie Celeste." Adamant walked to the front of the group. "We need an opening into the other world, to bring their partners to this one." He explained, pointing to June and August. "Is that how you introduce yourself to me, Adamant Waitley? Meh. Can I at least assume you didn't expect me to just give it to you? I could do it, the XYZ-Guild and all of its inventions are mine now. But.. why on earth would I bring more of your special friends here?" She demanded to know. "Because, the world may not have as much time left as we initially thought." The XYZ-duelist claimed. "Which world are we talking about, Adamant? We have the lost legendary cards now, the gods powers. If your prophecy is right, that gives both worlds an equal chance of survival." The woman sneered. "You do not understand. Marco, Uno's brother, has gone rogue. If he gathers enough power, he can make a jump to the past. Years, decades, millennia could be erased from time. This will affect both worlds, not just not this one! Even if you complete your plans, and fuse both timelines together, it will be undone! We need the other pendulum users to locate him!"

"Let me think about it.." Celeste's finger hovered over her console. "You know. I'd feel much happier bargaining from a position of power. _If_ you don't mind.. I'll show you some of the tricks I built into my home." She pushed a button, which seemingly made the walls come to life. "Uno!" Adamant rushed towards Uno and pushed him out of the way of one panel that rose from the floor. "Ugh, what?" He landed next to August.. "That woman is separating us?" The two duelists were cut off from the others by barriers, templars and walls. "Uno!" Alice, June and Adamant meanwhile were lifted up on a platform as they stood at the center of a room and pushed to the next floor. "What on earth is happening?" Iria cried out before the floor tilted up underneath her. "You cannot be serious!" She fell down and into a chute that dropped her down below. "Iria!" Zach was left behind, separated from everyone else by this madhouse of a building. Except one of the Templars. "Oh my."

...

"Ragh!" August brought out a Yangzing Suanni wyrm. "Do you think you can keep us bottled up?!" The monster blasted the walls with fire. "I don't think she's here anymore, August." Uno said, while August kept his attack up. "Blast! Why isn't this working!" The fire only made the room rather warm. The walls were untouched. "She's covered everything with forcefields." Uno touched the wall, feeling sparks of energy radiate across it. "I can't let constructs made with technology stop me!" August howled. "Then it must be something more than that. This Celeste girl had a lot of time and tools to experiment with, including whatever Martel brought to the table." Uno took his pendulum. "Like a teleport block." It was the same story from the island. This whole tower must have been teeming with anti-pendulum tech. "But she let us in. So there must be a way to turn that off." Uno concluded. "Then lets find it." August growled as he saw templar drones coming their way. "Guess you got your fight after all." Uno smirked.

...

June, Adamant and Alice stayed together as they wound up in a new location, several floors above their previous position. "That was peculiar." Not even June saw that coming. Machines were harder to predict than people. "Where did everyone else go?" Alice tried to look through the dark. The hall lights were not on here. "I..do not know. That girl pulled a fast one on me, something in the walls is weakening my pendulum." June could not sense anything outside a ten feet radius, her power was blinded. "The others should be below us at least." Adamant knew that much. "But we cannot go back for them, we have to assume they can make it on their own." Time was running out. "We have to move on." They could not waste it. "Okay." Alice regretfully agreed. "Then lead the way." Wherever Adamant went, they would follow..

...

Iria at first believed herself to be alone, in this office that she ended up in. Alone with a Templar that was. "Tch." The machine already picked a fight with her, connecting its lifepoints with hers. "That voice.. Creffield?" So imagine her surprise when Zach ran up to her. "You brought another one?!" She also spotted a templar chasing him. "I know, but I couldn't leave you.. I jumped in after you! Iria! Let's duel them together." That way, they could make it two against two at least. "What? That would be the worst idea; your deck clashes with mine." Most of her cards prevented the use of extra deck monsters. That would hinder Zach and his fusion cards. "Besides it's too late for that now." The two should have been dueling together from the start anyway, if they wanted to have a shared field or lifepoint pool. "I guess this is probably why we never dueled together before now. I just don't think these machines are going to play separately." Zach noticed the two templar drones were floating besides each other now. They could not share fields, but they could affect their respective opponents. "They're doing what.. Martel would do." Zach shuddered. "They're not much choice to it then, is there?" Iria sighed. The disciples and the templars drew their cards.

Iria's LP: 8000 Zach's LP: 8000

Templar M's LP: 8000 Templar D's LP: 8000

"I will.. go first." Zach placed one monster face-down on the field and one trap card. He then signalled his turn's end. **"BEGINNING TURN 02"** The machine made its move the very next second. **"SET THE SCALES, DINOMIST ANKYLOS AND DINOMIST CERATOPS"** This particular model evidently came from the Dinomist series. **"PENDULUM SUMMON, DINOMIST BRACHION AND DINOMIST STEGOSAUR."** Ankylos (scale 6) and Ceratops (scale 3) were the perfect fit for mechanical Brachiosaur tank(5/2000/800) and the steampowered stegosaur(4/1600/1800). **"BATTLE PHASE. DINOMIST BRACHION ATTACKS THE FACE-DOWN MONSTER."** Zach's card, Solo the Melodious Songstress(4/1600/1000) faced the dinosaur's wheels. "Solo the Melodious Songstress effect.. lets me summon a new Melodious." Zach tried to use her effect. **"ACTIVATE EFFECT OF DINOMIST STEGOSAURUS. DESTROY ANY MONSTER THAT BATTLES ANY DINOMIST."** But the Stegosaur fires light from the spines on its back to destroy Solo. Her effect did not go off if she was destroyed by a card effect. "Ah!?" And afterwards the Stegosaurus gave Zach a direct attack with its spiked tail. "Gah!"

Zach's LP: 6400

"Creffield. You should have known that that would happen." It was not like he could not read the card text. "Yes. I am sorry. It's been a while since.. I could duel how I wanted." Zach shook his head; it was fogged up with weird thoughts. **"SET A CARD IN THE SPELL/TRAP ZONE, END TURN."** But now the other disciple could make her stand. "I know you can do better, Creffield." She would pick up his slack, and she wouldn't do that by playing defensively. "Spell card, Tenacity of the Monarchs!" Her first card revealed a monster in her hand, Zaborg the Thunderstorm Monarch, to add a Monarch spell or trap card to that same hand. "I shall claim Pantheism of the Monarchs! And activate it." The Pantheism spell discarded another Monarch card from her hand; March of the Monarchs, to draw two new cards. from the graveyard. "Now I can banish Pantheism of the Monarchs from my graveyard. It chooses these three cards. And you you must select the one that is kept." Between the three Monarch spells; The Monarchs Erupt, Domain of the True Monarchs and The Monarchs Storm Forth, the Templars allowed Iria to draw the first card. "Very well..." The other cards were returned to her deck.

"I summon Edea the Heavenly Squire!" A vassal(2/800/1000) adorned in angelic armor floated down from above to land on the field. "The summoned Edea will special summon one monster with 800 attackpoints and 1000 defense points from my deck. I choose Eidos the Underworld Knight." The heavenly squire called upon the aid of the netherworld by bringing Eidos(2/800/1000). "When Eidos is normal summoned, I can tribute summon one more monster this turn. I tribute both Edea and Eidos to tribute summon Zaborg the Mega Monarch!" The Vassals silently gave their life, to bring the ultimate thunder Emperor(8/2800/1000) into existence. "Mega Zaborg destroys one monster, your Dinomist Brachion!" She declared her target. Mega Zaborg arced lightning between the red horns on its shoulders.

 **"ACTIVATE THE EFFECT OF DINOMIST CERATOPS. DESTROY THIS CARD INSTEAD OF A DINOMIST ON THE FIELD."** Alas, Mega Zaborg could not enjoy the moment. Its thunder of destruction was intercepted by the Triceratops that jumped out of the pendulum zone to die in Brachions place. "Very well." Edea's effect also activated if she was ever tributed. She could return a banished Monarch card to Iria's hand. "I take back Pantheism of the Monarchs, and reactivate it." This time the spell discarded The First Monarch and Iria drew two cards afterwards. The graveyard effect of Pantheism could only be activated once each turn however, so she let it stay in the graveyard. "Now, I will attack Dinomist Stegosaur!" The emperor prepared a ball of electricity in its hands this time and tossed it towards the spiked dinosaur. It was blown to bits. "That was my turn." Iria declared after she placed up to four trap cards down behind her Mega Monarch. "Iria.. I think you surpassed me while I was gone." Zach was in awe. "Do you think I like to hear that, Zachary Creffield?" She rasped. "No I.."

Templar D's LP: 6800

 **"BEGINNING TURN 04. SET THE SCALES, MAJESPECTER CAT - NEKOMATA. PENDULUM SUMMON THE MONSTER, MAJESPECTER CROW - YATA AND MAJESPECTER FOX - KYUBI. ACTIVATE THEIR EFFECTS."** While they talked, the other Templar was already using its cards. "It's using his partners pendulum!?" It appeared the Nekomata (scale 2) was enough to replace the destroyed Ceratops. Now two level 4 monsters were pendulum summoned. "Almost got me off guard... I activate The Monarchs Erupt!" The Fox(4/1500/1000) and Yata(4/1000/1500) would search Majespecter spells and traps. Iria did not want to hassle with that, so she activated her continuous trap that negated monsters effects as long as she controlled her tribute summoned Monarch. **"NORMAL SUMMON THE MAJESPECTER UNICORN - KIRIN."** Of course, the Specters could still use their raw strength. Majespecter Toad was sacrificed for the tribute summon of majestic unicorn(6/2000/2000). **"DIRECT ATTACK."** And they set their sights on Zach. "Oh dear." Two whirlwinds headed his way, dragging him across the floor. "Gwaah!"

Zach's LP: 2900

"They have found a weakness, and they are exploiting it." Iria grunted. Between this and the scale sharing, it was no wonder Templars were dangerous in greater numbers "Thank for that descriptive of me, Iria." Zach sighed. "Creffield.." Iria was wondering it was a mistake to bring him here to begin with. The more hits he took, he more staggered his breaths became. "Egh.. It's all dandy, Iria." He did not want to lose face in front of her. **"SET ONE CARDS IN THE SPELL/TRAP ZONE, ACTIVATE THE FIELD SPELL; DIVINE WIND OF THE MIST VALLEY, END TURN."** Now he at least had a chance to redeem himself. "Divine Wind again?" In fact this duel was starting to look a lot like the duel Dom took for him back at the palace. "I am just worried about that Unicorn monster." Kirin was tribute summoned, so its effects wouldnt be sealed by The Monarchs Erupt. "I have it covered. Don't worry about it." Iria eyed one her face-down Dimensional Barrier trap; her failsafe in case the enemy found a way around her continuous trap. "If you say so. Then I shall activate the field spell, Grand Concerto! Once per turn, I can special summon one Melodious monster from my hand!" Zach summoned his greatest musical angel, the Melodious Maestra Mozarta(6/2600/2000).

 _Grand Concerto, Field Spell_  
 _You cannot special summon monsters, except "Melodious" monsters. Once per turn: You can special summon 1 "Melodious" monster from your hand.  
"Melodious" monsters you control are unaffected by your opponent's spell or trap cards._

And immediately a response came. **"ACTIVATE THE TRAP, MAJESPECTER SUPERCELL. THE EFFECTS OF MAJESPECTERS CANNOT BE NEGATED."** Templar M's continuous trap immunized the effects of other monsters. "What? Creffield, he.." The machine beat the disciples to the punch, Iria's Barrier was useless against Majespecters now. " **ACTIVATE MAJESPECTER UNICORN. RETURN ONE CONTROLLED PENDULUM MONSTER TO THE HAND, TO RETURN ONE MONSTER TO THE OPPONENT'S HAND"** The Series M-drone returned Majespecter Fox to its hand to return the Melodious Maestra to Zach's hand. "Ah no!" That wasn't even the worst news. " **ACTIVATE THE EFFECT OF DIVINE WIND OF MIST VALLEY."** All Majespecters were wind-types. A wind-type like Kyubi monster returning to the hand triggered the field spell's special summoning effect. **"SPECIAL SUMMON THE MAJESPECTER TOAD - OGAMA. ACTIVATE ITS EFFECT AND SET MAJESPECTER TORNADO."** The special summoned Toad(4/1300/500) for instance owned an ability to set Majespecter traps or spells down on the field, though at least those could not be activated in the same turn. "I shouldn't have summoned at all."

"Creffield. Why are you talking like that?" Iria noticed that he sounded more defeated than usual. He placed a trap down to end his turn, but he was merely going through the motions. "I don't know. I just felt different ever since I came back from.. Martel." Zach could not explain it well. "I'd suggest you find an answer to those thoughts. Because otherwise we are both going back to the state you were in before." Iria put it gently, while she activated another trap: The Prime Monarch. "I return two Monarch traps or spells from the graveyard to the deck, to draw one card." She returned March of The Monarchs and The First Monarch, drawing Ehther the Heavenly Monarch from her deck. "I will not let that happen, Creffield." Whatever waited for them, she would not fail.. her master or her partner.

...

"This could be bad. Pretty sure this is bad. Very very bad." Marie Celeste was not enjoying the show on the big screens. "Why did they get freaks of nature like that? They're going to tear through everything." Her plan was not working as well as she had hoped. The templars could barely hold some of them down. August and Uno already destroyed theirs and were running towards their floor. "Why did _he_ have to go and provoke them?" First Phoebe, now Martel; the guild was losing its strongest assets and fast. "It may be time to throw in the towel on this place." Ichirou was still on her side, but all he cared for was his own world. "We can't leave yet! Do you have any idea how long it takes to move terabytes and terabytes of information?" Even if she wanted to go, which she didn't, she needed more time. "Then perhaps we can use this as an opportunity to use the new cards." Ichirou proposed with a wicked smirk on his face. "The 'lost cards'? Which ones should we even use? We haven't tested any of them. Nobody is dumb enough to volunteer now."

"Actually." Ichirou looked up at one screen which showed the progress of Uno, Adamant and Alice. "I know someone who has the right level of desperation. Let's bring him in."

(To be Continued in Redux 025: Highest Standard, Longest Fall)

 **New Cards used by Iria Silver  
** Edea the Heavenly Squire

-  
The Prime Monarch

 **New Cards used by Zach Crawfield  
** _Grand Concerto_

 **Cards used by Templar Series M  
** Divine Wind of the Mist Valley

-  
Majespecter Supercell

 **Cards used by Templar Series D  
** Dinomist Stegosaur


	66. Highest Standard, Longest Fall

**Redux 25: Highest Standard, Longest Fall**

Templar D's LP: 6800 Templar M's LP: 8000

Iria's LP: 8000 Zach's LP: 2900

 **"BEGINNING TURN 06"** The duel between disciples and templars continued, Zach controlled no monsters. While Iria controlled Zaborg the Mega Monarch(8/2800/1000). **"ACTIVATE THE EFFECT OF KIRIN."** Therefor, she was now the big target. The Majespecter Unicorn returned Majespecter Toad(4/1300/500) to the machine's hand, to return Zaborg as well. "I think not." Iria activated an effect from her hand. "I tribute Mega Zaborg and banish Tenacity of the Monarchs from my hand!" There was her one card who could be normal summoned during her opponents turn. It only needed one Monarch card banished from the grave, and a tribute summoned monster. "I tribute summon Ehther the Heavenly Monarch!" Mega Zaborg disappeared, dodging the Unicorn's effect. Then the angelic emperor(8/2800/1000) descended from the heavens, in armor of pristine gold and robes of white. "Ehther now summons a monster with 2400 attackpoints and 1000 defense points from my deck, Raiza the Storm Monarch! And she sends two Monarch cards to my graveyard; The First Monarch and Strike of the Monarchs!" Ehther raised her cape and made the emperor of the winds(6/2400/1000) appear from nothing.

On the flipside, the returned Majespecter Fox allowed the Divine Winds of the Mist Valley to special summon a Majespecter Raccoon - Bunbuku(3/1200/900). Its effect added another Majespecter Unicorn card to the M-Templar's unseen hand. And it had one more use for this Raccoon. **"ACTIVATE TRAP CARD, MAJESPECTER TORNADO. THE TRIBIUTE OF A MAJESPECTER BANISHES ONE MONSTER."** Templar M sacrificed Majespecter Raccoon for the Hurricane, so that Ehther would be removed permanently. "You would enjoythat, wouldn't you? Or at least the people controlling you would." Iria couldn't be sure if Marie Celeste was still listening, but she was not going to let her new toys silence her. "But I am not going to let you. I activate the Monarchs Awaken! Now your effects cannot touch my Monarch." The 'awakened' monarch lost its own effects, but at least it was unaffected by the Tornado. **"PENDULUM SUMMON."** With Templar M's designs failed, Templar D set its sights on Zach. It was about to pendulum summon when. "Dimensional Barrier!" Iria shot that down too. "I select Pendulum. No monsters of that type can be special summoned or use their effects this turn!"

"Iria." Zach was astounded. She kept one-upping their opponents. "Stop acting so surprised. These things are nothing compared to us.." Iria growled. The Barrier would not stop the Majespecters while Majespecter Supercell was active, but at least it it would hinder the Dinomists. "Huh?" However, Templar D chained a trap to the Barrier. **"ACTIVATE DINOMIST CHARGE. IT SPECIAL SUMMONS A DINOMIST FROM THE DECK, WHICH IS UNAFFECTED BY OTHER EFFECTS AND IS DESTROYED DURING THE ENDPHASE."** A neongreen tyrannosaur mech(5/2400/2200) was special summoned just before the barrier could resolve and stop it. And it even normal summoned a Dinomist Plesios(4/1700/1400) **"DIRECT ATTACK."** Both new Dinomechs and Dinomist Brachion(5/2000/800) rushed towards the unprotected disciple. "Creffield!"

"Trap card!" Hurriedly, Zach activated his trap card. "Pinpoint Guard! One level 4 monster from my graveyard will save me!" Zach special summoned the Melodious Songstress Solo(4/1600/1000) to the field in defense mode. Dinomist Rex's arc cannons fired at unfortunate singer. Luckily Pinpoint Guard made its revived target indestructible for the rest of the turn. Solo survived the attack. But this trap did not stop all kinds of removal. **"ACTIVATE THE EFFECT OF DINOMIST REX. TRIBUTE ONE MONSTER AFTER ONE BATTLE WITH A MONSTER, TO SHUFFLE ONE OPPOSING CARD TO ITS CONTROLLER'S DECK AND TO ADD 100 ATTACKPOINTS TO DINOMIST REX."** The Rex turned on its own allies, eating Dinomist Plesios. "Shuffle?" Subsequently the Songstress vanished from the field. **"DIRECT ATTACK."** Dinomist Brachion fired its cannons, enveloping Zach in a barrage of lights. "Gaaahh!" To end the turn, Templar D placed a trap card down. "I miscalculated again.. Maybe I really wasn't meant for this."

Zach's LP: 900

During the endphase Dinomist Rex selfdestroyed and the monster summoned by Ehther, Raiza, returned to Iria's hand as well. "Are you still talking about that?" But Iria waited before she started her turn. "It's just.. all of this is a lot like the future I have been trying to avoid. Do you remember my father?" He asked her. "How could I forget the major?" Dreamworld entertained some meetings with Creffield senior in the past. He was never that enthused by his sons choice of livestyle. "Well I checked. The Zachary Creffield of this world joined his army after all, and has gotten quite entrenched. If it worked out for him, what does it say about me? What if I shouldn't have become a duelist? I have failed the master so many times now.. I thought coming here would force me to overpower my fears. But.. I cant even be brave like Alice or smart like you.." Zach looked at his own hands. They were trembling. "You are wondering about what your life could have been?" Iria snapped. "You saw what I turned into, did you not? Master Dom did not make a mistake when he hired me. Therefor he did not make a mistake with you either, Creffield! Nobody can control everything. The fact that dueling turned out this way has nothing to do with his dream. Nobody can be perfect. Yet your aversions to this madness prove that you're not a soldier but a part of the company!"

"Perfect? Iria.." Zach was surprised. She might have been yelling, but those words were the last thing he ever thought she would say. "You think about it." Iria began her turn in earnest. "Pantheism is banished!" To start, she used Pantheism of the Monarchs' grave effect to take a trio of Monarch cards from the deck (The Monarchs Storm Forth, Return of the Monarchs, Domain of the True Monarchs). Return of the Monarchs was what the Templars allowed her to have. "Either way. I hope you do not mind if it so happens that nothing is left for you." She said with a smile tugging at her lips. "I.. would not complain." Things could not be pleasant for the opponents if she was this 'excited'. "Good." Iria activated Return of the Monarchs, her continuous spell. "I shall use one more spell from the graveyard. Strike of the Monarchs can change Ehther's attribute to water." Once the quickplay spell was banished, her Monarch gained a blue hue. "I sacrifice Ehther, for Mobius the Mega Monarch!" Like all Mega Monarchs, any tribute summoned monster would do as their sacrifice.

 **"ACTIVATE THE TRAP, DINOMIST HOWLING. IT SETS DINOMIST PENDULUMS IN THE PENDULUM ZONES AND SACRIFICES ONE DINOMIST TO RETURN ONE CARD ON THE FIELD TO THE HAND."** But Templar D used its new trap to tribute Dinomist Brachion. "!?" The Monarchs Erupt was removed from the field, freeing the effects of their monsters. It also placed a Dinomist Pteran (scale 3) in its empty pendulum zone. **"ACTIVATE THE TRAP, MAJESPECTER GUST. SPECIAL SUMMON ONE MAJESPECTER FROM THE PENDULUM ZONE."** And it soon became clear why. By special summoning the cat to the field, the templars could give Majespecter Unicorn new targets and restart the Divine Wind loop. "Hold that thought!" Yet then Zach revealed his trap.. Dimensional Barrier. "I declare pendulum!" The barrier blocked the summon of all pendulum monsters, thus Majespecter Gust fizzled out. "You got that card as well?" Iria did not know why she was surprised. Dom created that trap himself. "Are we, or are we not, his disciples?." Zach nodded.

"Well then, let me add my own link to this chain." Before the cards resolved, she activated a quickplay spell. "Chain Summoning! I can normal summon three times this turn, if this card was activated at the third or higher link in a chain!" The spell placed its effect on her field. The climate shifted from heavens warmth to the ice-cold glaciers of Mobius(8/2800/1000). "Now Return of the Monarchs reacts to the summon of my new Monarch.. and gives me Mega Granmarg." Finally, after all the spells and traps, Mobius' effect came into play. "Mobius the Mega Monarch destroys up to three spell or trap cards on the field. And when the sacrifice's element favors the emperor, those cards cannot be activated!" Ehther's brief stint as a water-attribute monster prevented the Templars from using those cards. Majespecter Supercell, Dinomist Ankylos and Dinomist Pteran were buried under layers of ice and pulverized into shards.

"I activate another card from the graveyard, Eidos the Underworld Knight. It's banished to special summon a monster with 800 attackpoints and 1000 defense points from my graveyard! Edea the Heavenly Squire!" Ehthers divine vassal(4/800/1000) returned to life with the help of the underworld vassal. Even better, Edea's Vassal summoning power could be used even when she was special summoned. "Edea special summons Mithra the Thunder Vassal!" Zaborg's own servant(4/800/1000) appeared on the frozen fields. "I can and will sacrifice Mithra for Raiza the Storm Monarch!" Iria used her second normal summon to tribute summon the Raiza Monarch(6/2400/1000) and return the wind emperor to the field. "The card I will remove from the field, is Divine Winds of the Mist Valley!" Raiza returned the field spell to the top of Templar M's deck. And the bonuses kept on coming.

The tributed Mithra handed out another extra tribute summon with its effect. Meaning Iria could do it two more times. "I special summon Landrobe the Rock Vassal from my hand, by switching your monster to face-down position." The hooded servant in earthgold armor broke through the ground and bowed down before Iria. Its effect forced Majespecter Unicorn into a face-down defense position. "The third summon! I will tribute Landrobe for Granmarg the Mega Monarch!" The robed vassal was swallowed by the earth, sacrificed to bring life to his greatest emperor Mega Granmarg(8/2800/1000). "Say farewell to Kirin." Mega Granmarg himself could destroy one set card on the field, while drawing a new card for Iria. Two rocks smashed the face-down Kirin into a fine powder, ending its reign of terror once and for all.

Her hand reclaimed the Vassal Mithra in the same move. Landrobe's effect triggered with its tribute; moving one monster with the same stats at it from the graveyard to Iria's hand. Edea's effect was also reset with her sacrifice, and the banished Tenacity of the Monarchs spell card was retrieved. "Mithra." Iria re-special summoned the thunder vassal, through the creation of a Vassal token(1/800/1000) which she gave to Templar D. After that she revealed a Thestalos Mega Monarch from her hand to activate her Tenacious searching spell. "Tenacity of the Monarchs adds The Monarchs Storm Forth to my hand. Which I shall activate!" The storming spell targeted the vassal token. "I can use a token on the opponents side of the field as a tribute. The token and Mithra will be offered for the last normal summon." The token and her creator dove into a fountain of flames. "Thestalos the Mega Monarch!" The blazing spike-armored monarch(8/2800/1000) arrived at the domain, sending its firestorms towards the Majespecter Templar. "Now that I summoned him, Mega Thestalos burns one card in your hand. I choose Majespecter Kirin - Unicorn!" The more recently acquired Kirin was now lost to the graveyard. And its master also lost 200 lifepoints for each of Kirin's six level stars.

Templar M's LP: 6800

"Wow, Iria." Zach'd never expected such a set-up in his wildest imaginations. Four emperors of different elements roamed the throne hall, three of them Mega monarchs. "The stage has been completed." Iria clenched her hand. "I will take care of Templar M. You can have the rest." Mega Thestalos, Mega Mobius and Raiza combined their attacks to create a twister of fire and ice. It flew straight towards the Majespecter drone. "What is this?" But while the drone took the ice and fire blasts, it avoided the wind storm. Rather, Templar D intercepted that direct attack with its drone body.

Templar M's LP: 1200 Templar D's LP: 4400

"They can not do that!" Iria protested. "They can, they're using Martels method of dueling." Zach explained. While Templar M was hiding behind Templar D, M could not be attacked. "Martel? Who makes the rules here?" Angered, Iria attacked Templar D one more time. The damage somehow evened out in the end. "I reactivate The Prime Monarch." There were enough Monarch cards in the graveyard again, so Iria started her turn by letting the Prime trap return The First Monarch. "Well two can play that game." Iria stepped forward. "Zachary, stay behind me. As long as you do, they cant attack you." She placed two traps face-down and ended her turn. "You have changed a little too, havent you Iria."

Templar D's LP: 1600

 **"BEGINNING TURN 08."** Still hiding behind Templar D, Templar M started its turn. As Crow (scale 5) was activated to pair with Majespecter Cat(scale 2); three Majespecters could be pendulum summoned: Majespecter Toad and Raccoon from the extra deck and Majespecter Fox from the hand. All were special summoned in defense mode. Is that all?" Iria quickly reactivated The Monarchs Erupt to negate their effects. "Good." The enemy was not trying to attack Zach. It looked like for now, Iria's cover was holding up. But so was that of the enemy. Templar M was covering Templar D now with its three defenders. "Tch." The disciples could not afford that much time, nor could they afford to let Templar D summon again. "Zachary, what are you doing?" Still it took her off guard when Creffield came back to the frontline. "If I have to attack, I have to stand besides you." Zach smiled, as the turn moved to him. "Just tell me, do you have anything that can get rid of one of them?"

"The last time you trusted me... I suppose I can repay the favor. Let's just hope that it turns out more favorably this time." Iria flipped her trap: Oath of Companionship. "As I control no extra deck monsters, I take control of one of yours: Templars!" The Oath card controlled the Majespecter Toad which was summoned from the extra deck. "You knew exactly what I wanted." Only two shields were in the way now. Let's do this. I activate Ostinato! When I control no monsters, I can fuse two Melodious in my deck to special summon a Melodious fusion monster!" A musical tune broke out, played by Shopina the Melodious Maestra and Opera the Melodious Diva. "I fusion summon Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir!" To fuse Bloom Diva, one needed a Melodious and a Melodious Maestra as fusion materials. Ostinato took those two and created the blue-haired angel(7/1900/2000) in the yellow flower-dress. Bloom Prima(2500/2000) gained 300 attackpoints for each of her fusion materials.

"And like you would say, Iria. That's not all! I reactivate Grand Concerto for Mozarta!" It was time for round two of the Melodious masterpiece. Mozarta(7/2600/2000) was summoned by the concert-hall spell. "Mozarta will special summon an angel from my hand, Melodious Diva Tamtam!" The Maestra directed her fellow musicmakers with her baton and drew Tamtam the tambourine playing diva(4/1000/2000) with purple hair and puffed up green sleeves and pants. "If Tamtam is special summoned while I control a Melodious monster, she can take Polymerization from my deck!" Zach grabbed the fusing spell. "I activate Polymerization, and combine Mozarta with Tamtam!" The fusion vortex swallowed the Maestra and her Diva. "I fusion summon.. another Bloom Prima!" The second dual-material Melodious Choir(6/2500/2000) bloomed on the battlefield, singing in tandem with the first. "A fused Tamtam can reduce one Melodious' attackpoints by 500 and inflict 500 points of damage! Go, Tamtam! Target Bloom diva and the Dinomist templar!" Bloom Prima Deux(2000/2000) absorbed the spirit of Tamtam and sounded a short but powerful song to disrupt the front templar drone.

Templar M's LP: 700

"I am affraid this is it, Templars! Bloom Prima can attack twice, and both of them will! The First and Second Movement!" The weaker of the Choir angels surrounded the Majespecters Fox and Raccoon with sound and flowers, cutting into it from all sides and tearing them to pieces. "And now the Third and Fourth Movement! The Final piece!" The stronger Bloom Prima targeted the machines themselves with two direct attacks. A second wave of music and petals struck the majestic and dinomic drones and finished them for good.

Templar M's LP: 0 Templar D's LP: 0

"Thankfully, that chaos is finally at an end." Iria felt like she could finally breathe again. "You were great as always, Iria. I can see why you are so pleased with that deck." Even though Dom made her a brand new pendulum set, she went back to the Monarchs. "Was it not the same for you?" Zach had rejected new cards from the master before even trying them out. "It was. I think.. I know what changed for me." Zach looked down on his own cards. "It might sound crazy, but it feels like the Melodious aren't my own anymore. I feel.. worse when I play them." It reminded him too much of Martel. This was the deck the puppetmaster wanted him to keep after all. "It is not as crazy as you might think." And Iria surprised her by understanding him, just a little. "Perhaps the master can make you something new, once we return home." She suggested with an almost-smile. "Home. I would like that." He shook his head. "I am talking too much again. We should be moving, finding the others."

"Yes. I'd like to see anyone try to stop us now."

...

On the other side of the building, another pair of duels ended favorably for the human side. "You know.. It is quite interesting to duel someone for a change, who has no mind to read." Three templars dropped down before June. As she, Alice and Adamant had to take care of a sudden templar attack, they werent any closer to finding the portal. "A good reason to not send in thinking reinforcements. Do you sense anything yet?" There had to be at least some minds in this tower, besides his and Alice's. "Nothing on this floor. I.." Her voice trailed off. "..June?" Something draw her attention. "Someone is here. It feels strange.. " She shuddered. "Strange? Like.. things you've seen before strange?" Alice asked her. "Hard to say. I'm not that old..." June traced her hand against the wall. "That I can feel anyone at all, is suspicious. But someone is up there. That way." June pointed at another stairwell. "Let's go." Adamant ordered. Any sign of life had to mean something.

Where they wound up was a lounge area of sorts. "Greetings!" A grinning short-haired man waited for them there, sitting comfortably in a large chair. "Ah! It's..It.'s... " Alice shrieked, but realized halfway through that she had no idea who this guy was. "We haven't met in person. The name is.." Ichirou began his introductions. "Ichirou." And Adamant cut him off. "Oh you haven't changed one bit." Ichirou laughed. "Why is he here?" Adamant did not like this at all, Ichirou would not show himself without a 'good' reason. "He isn't.." June grabbed a pillow from another couch and tossed it at Ichirou. "A hologram?" It phased right through him. "Of course. I am not that eager to part with my thoughts, miss June." The man chuckled some more. "But you sensed someone, didn't you? Well, let me introduce you to a friend of ours.. and yours, Adamant." Ichirou raised his hand and switched the lights in the room on to reveal a figure standing in the corner. "! It's that guy!" Alice had definitely seen his face before. "You're.." Adamant recognized him too, somehow. "Did you forget me, champion?" And this man certainly knew Adamant. "Kyle. The name is Kyle."

(To be Continued in Redux 024: Justify the Means)

 **New Cards used by Iria Silver**  
Mobius the Mega Monarch

-  
Chain Summoning

-  
Dimensional Barrier

 **New Cards used by Zach Crawfield**  
Tamtam the Melodious Diva

-  
Ostinato

-  
Pinpoint Guard  
Dimensional Barrier

 **Cards used by Templar Series M**  
Majespecter Tornado  
Majespecter Gust

 **Cards used by Templar Series D**  
Dinomist Rex

-  
Dinomist Rush  
Dinomist Howling


	67. Justify the Means

**Redux 24: Justify the Means**

"Kyle..."

"Yeah. That is my name. Did you remember? Or did you leave the memory of me behind, like the names of every other duelist you crushed?" The man introduced by Ichirou was no stranger to Alice or Adamant. "Who.. is this?" June had no prior experience, yet she got a strong aura on him already. "That's.. Kyle. He was one of the independent duelists.. from the tournament. And he dueled Adamant because.. his brother was in an accident." Alice was ashamed to admit it, but she'd forgotten all about him until he showed up here and now. "Why is he here?" Adamant ordered Ichirou to tell him. "You are talking to _me_ now, Adamant!" Kyle let out a sudden loud scream. "I haven't forgotten. This is your fault, because of what you created, because of what your guild did to my brother!.. I know what really happened now. I know why my brother had to suffer." Kyle stomped his foot on the floor. "You werent just experimenting with solid vision! You used him as a guinea pig for that damn portal! Because of that machine that brought me here! You sent him through before the gate was perfected, and he came back mindless!"

"I see. I understand it a little now." June muttered to herself. She sensed Kyle's active thoughts, his painful memories. However there was something troubling inside as well; a darkness of the mind. "But Adamant left the XYZ-guild! That guy is leading it now, isn't he?" Alice pointed at Ichirou, who was just watching this whole conversation with his perpetual grin. "Oh I wasn't even part of the guild back then." He claimed. "I know what he is. And I am not working for him! I'm only here so I can get you, Adamant. You were the leader when it happened. You were the one who gave the order to send him through. You can't walk away from that by quitting the guild!" Briefly he tore his hate-filled eyes away from Adamant to glare at Alice. "And you, I know what you did. I heard how you defeated him. How Cassius of the synchro guild captured him. How he abandoned his men to join you. I couldn't believe it, and I still cannot. If you think he has changed at all, then you're a fool!" He stretched out his hand and unfolded his dueldisk. "But I _have_ changed! You imprisoned me. The guilds set me free. All they wanted was to put me on your path, and give the some of the very same cards you wanted to steal from Dreamworld! I will crush you with these!"

Adamant's LP: 8000 Kyle's LP: 8000

"..." Adamant's disk switched on. He could not reject him. Nor did he desire too. "Adamant, we can help.." Alice took out her own deck. "No. It is me he wants. If it were anyone else, I would accept. But.." Adamant was starting to feel it too, an wave of uneasiness permeated the air. It concentrated around Kyle's cards. "You're still looking down on me. But he is right, Alice Brandt. This power is meant for him. I do not plan to hurt anyone else, so do not get in my way." Kyle took the first turn. He placed one monster face-down. "It would probably be smart to stand back, Alice. At the very least until we know what we are dealing with." June cautioned her as well. "You mean, you dont know?" If a mindreader was worried, then these cards had to be special. "Well, you seem to have everything in order. I shall take my leave." The Ichirou hologram got up from the chair. "Yes, leave." Kyle grunted. Ichirou smirked and blipped out of existence. "It's your turn now, Adamant. Come on! I know you want this duel as much as I do!"

"..Tribute Lanius." Adamant opened with the blue blade launcher, Raidraptor Tribute Lanius(4/1800/400). Upon its summon, a Raidraptor Mimicry Lanius was sent to the graveyard with its effect. "Raidraptor - Readiness." Mimicry Lanius could in turn be banished from the graveyard to add a Raidraptor card to Adamants hand. "And Tribute Lanius attacks." The Raidraptor fired the blades feathers from its wings, each of which shot a laser down into Kyle's facedown monster. "I have seen that move a thousand times in my head already, Adamant! You have not even changed your ways as a duelist!" And the monster flipped face-up, unharmed by the attack. "?!" Adamant felt a pulse run through the room. "What.. was that? What is that?" Alice gasped as a winged seed(1/0/0) with one eye on its body and the other on a stalk flew over the spell zone. "I have.. no idea. This creature.. it's older than me?" There were many monsters June faced in her many pasts. This was not one of them. "This is your gift from the guilds?"

"Yes, Adamant, this is the power of the Cubics! Vijam the Cubic Seed cannot be destroyed by an attack. Whenever it fights it turns itself into a continuous spell and.. it leaves one Cubic counter on its attacker!" Some blue slime was left behind on Tribute Lanius, binding it like a web. "Monsters with Cubic counters cannot attack and have their effects sealed!" Kyle explained with glee. "...Then you are using a weapon you have yet to master." Adamant placed three trap cards down and ended his turn. "I don't care as long as it gives me the edge I need to destroy you!" Kyle drew one card and smirked. "During my turn I can resummon Vijam the Cubic Seed to my field!" The two-eyed seed transformed back into a monster. "The Cubics are just like your Falcons, Adamant. They always evolve! By tributing one Cubic monster, I can special summon the next stage! Geira Gale, the Cubic King!" Vijams body changed, its slimy skin turned to a rotten green and fork-like appendages grew from its(2/0/0) wings and torso. "Geira Guile gains 800 attackpoints if its summoned this way, and it inflicts 800 points of damage when its special summoned!" The Cubic King(2/800/0) fired a quick burst of bio-electric energy from its wings and struck Adamant in the chest. "Gah!"

Adamants LP: 7200

"Adamant?!" Alice cried out as the duelist was pushed back by the attack. "Yes, you felt that.. That's a little spicier than just your solid holograms, isn't it?" Kyle laughed. "These things.. are alive." Adamant wheezed. He was this winded from just 800 points of damage? "They are more than your guild could ever hope to create!" Kyle normal summoned his next monster. "Duza the Meteor Cubic Vessel! When it is summoned, one Cubic card is sent from the deck to the graveyard!" An alien-esque robot(4/1600/1600) stomped into the room on its long squid-like arms. "I send this card, Cubic Karma. Because Cubic Karma has a graveyard effect." A continuous spell was discarded and promptly banished. "Cubic Karma adds another Cubic spell or trap from my deck to my hand. And I choose.. Cubic Karma!" Kyle retrieved the second of the continuous spells.

"If I activate this Cubic Karma on the field, it sends two Cubic Seed monsters to my graveyard, and adds 800 attackpoints to one of my Cubics for each seed!" Cubic Karma targeted Geira Guile, empowering the King(2400/0) with the two remaining Vijam Cubics from Kyle's deck. "And! Duza gains 200 attackpoints for each unique monster in my graveyard, if a monster was sent to my graveyard this turn." The only monster in the ground was Vijam the Cubic Seed, so Duza(1800/0) only got 200 extra points for now. "Attack, Cubic King!" The green beast flew towards Raidraptor Tribute Lanius and stretched out its wings. "Raidraptor Readiness." Adamant flipped his trap, to protect his Raidraptor from attacks. "Rgh!" However he still took damage, as he could not use Raidraptor Readiness' graveyard effect with no others Raidraptors in the graveyard. "I knew you would do that, Adamant." Duza's attack wouldn't amount to anything now, but Geira Guile's attack was the one that mattered.

Adamant's LP: 6600

. "Adamant. Each time the Cubics fight, they grow stronger. When Geira Guile has finished a battle, it will tribute itself to special summon two Cubic Seeds from my graveyard!" The Cubic King of storms melted down into a pool of bio-slime, and regenerated into two blue Vijam seeds(1/0/0). "And Geira Guile adds Vulcan Dragni the Cubic King to my hand!" Kyle took a level 3 monster and proceeded towards his second main phase. "Vulcan Dragni! This one takes two sacrifices to be special summoned!" He tributed the Vijam seed pair, to bring forth the a purple devil-horned entity(3/0/0) with pincer-blade tentacles growing from its torso. "Vulcan Dragni gains 1600 attackpoints when its summoned this way! And he also will inflict 800 points of damage!" The Cubic King of fire surrounded itself(3/1600/0) in a wreath of flames and threw a portion of it in Adamant's face. "Tch!" No matter how many times he was hit, he just could not prepare for the pain. "Yes. Stay with it. I want this to be slow.." Kyle placed two traps down on his field and let his turn end. During the endphase, Duza(1600/0)'s attack dropped back to its normal amount.

Adamant's LP: 5800

"This deck.." It was Adamants turn and he was weary. He knew nothing about these cards, he could not determine the best way to approach them. "...Raidraptor - Replica." For now he unveiled his second trap. "It summons a replica of my current raidraptor, Tribute Lanius, from my deck." A second blue raptor(4/1800/400) appeared from the shadow of the first. Its effect was activated during this main phase and a second Mimicry Lanius was discarded. "Raidraptor Nest." He banished Mimicry Lanius to get his hands on a spell card this turn. By activating it, he could grab new Raidraptors each turn he controlled two or more of them. "I add Raidraptor Sharp Lanius and summon it..." With the effect of razorbeaked red Lanius(4/1700/1000), Adamant managed to switch Vulcan Dragni to defense mode. "Battle!" The counter-free Tribute Lanius moved in on Vulcan Dragni first. "Defense versus offense? Being careful like that wont save you, Adamant!" Kyle chained a trap to the attack. "Wall of Disruption! Your monsters lose 800 attackpoints for each monster you control!" Waves of energy pushed the Raidraptors back, weakening the Tribute birds(0/400) and Sharp Lanius(0/1000) "!" Tribute Lanius slammed itself into the defending Vulcan Dragni. Zero attackpower couldn't do a thing to zero defense.

Adamant's LP: 4200

"Oh no! Now.." Alice figured that this couldn't be good that Vulcan Dragni succesfully 'battled' an opponents monster. "Ha! I can now tribute the Cubic fire King to special summons three Cubic Seeds from my graveyard!" Vulcan Dragni split itself into all three Vijam seeds(1/0/0). "And it gives me the next stage, the Cubic Emperor Indiora Doom Volt!" Vulcans effect moved a 4th level Cubic from the deck to Kyle's hand. "And I will activate Cubic Karma's final power! When Vijam is special summoned during my opponents turn, the spell selfdestructs and takes half of my opponents lifepoints away!" Cubic Karma erupted into a violent river of holy fire. "Feel the sins rain, Adamant! Taste all that negative karma you built up, come back to you!" This was not damage, the flames forced Adamant to give up half his life. "RghhHaaaah!" Finally, the XYZ-duelist was knocked down to the ground.

Adamant's LP: 2900

"No!" Alice screamed and rushed to Adamant's side. "Back off!" Kyle roared while Duza charged the floor with black flames. "Ah.." Alice stopped, but she did not stay away. "Why.. why do you have to do this? What will it do? It's not going to change the past!" No matter what, his brother would still be in a coma after all of this. "You think he does not deserve it? Do you think I don't deserve justice!?" Kyle countered. "I.. I did feel forry for you.. when you were just trying to stop the XYZ-guild. But now you're working with them just to get to Adamant! You can't call that justice! That's just anger!" She yelled. "She is right. You are not doing it for your brother anymore, but for your own revenge." June added. The name of his brother barely reach the surface of his mind right now. "None of you know what you're talking about. You don't know a thing!"

"Kyle." Adamant pulled himself up. "...I XYZ-summon, Blade Burner Falcon." Adamant attached Sharp Lanius with Tribute Lanius to the blade-carrying blazing falcon(4/1000/1000). Since Adamants lifepoints were lower than Kyle's by 3000, the Burning Falcon(4000/1000) gained 3000 attackpoints. "I set one card. End turn." The spell was set, and now it was time to wait. "Oh? You're up again?! Good! I wouldn't want this to end prematurely!" Kyle drew his card. "And we've finally reached XYZ-monsters! Here's my answer to your rank 4! I can tribute three Cubics, to special summon Indiora Doom Volt!" The seeds mutated into a pure white being(4/0/0). It walked on three clawed legs and two tentacle-nail arms, had an eye on its waist and a facial marking on its torso. "Indiora gains 2400 attackpoints when summoned this way, and inflicts 800 points of damage!" The Cubic Emperor released ghostly white plasma from its body, and sent it after the XYZ-duelist. "I activate Raidraptor Readiness!" Fortunately now Adamant could banish his trap and one Raidraptor Tribute Lanius from the graveyard. He couldn't take any damage this turn.

"Heh. Looks like you will outlive the line of the Cubic Kings. But these monsters evolve in more than one way!" Kyle sent Duza the Meteor Vessel to the graveyard. "By using up one Cubic monster, I can special summon Dark Garnex the Cubic Beast from my hand! It will gain 1000 attackpoints when summoned this way!" A hideous mutated beast(2/1000/0) with two eyes besides its eye seed, and six tentacle-filled arms tumbled into the room. "Beasts.." Another energyburst pulsed throughout. And June noticed that the veins on Kyle's forehead were getting more pronounced and jagged. "Now, Cubic Karma, give me the spell, Cubic Wave!" The second karma card banished itself from the graveyard to search a Cubic normal spell. "This card will double the attackpoints of one of my monsters, and halve the attackpoints of yours!" The Cubic's aura enveloped Blade Burner Falcon(2000/1000) and the Cubic beast Garnex(2000/0). Now weakened, it was attacked by The volt Emperor. Smoke and electricity flooded the room once the Falcon died.

"Ahh!" Smoke filled the room. _"No.. No it's okay. He can't take any damage.."_ Alice told herself. Still Adamant lost all his monsters again. Or did he? "Rank-Up-Magic.. Escape Force!" Adamant raised his voice. "Huh?" The cloud of debris parted, as Adamant revealed his new defending monster; Raidraptor Blaze Falcon(5/1000/2000). "That card!?" It was his evolution, Blade Burner turned into this rank 5 XYZ-monster. "Ho? Rank-up-magic." It turned out that Escape Force negated the attack on Blade Burner Falcon and upped it to the next rank, while letting it keep all of its XYZ-materials. "January would be happy to see that this power survived the destruction of his homeworld." This technique, June seemed to have experience with. ".. This came from his timeline?" Alice wondered. "Wherever it came from. All I need to know is, that it has the ability to combat this threat!" Adamant mustered a yell.

 _Rank-Up-Magic: Escape Force, Quickplay Spell  
_ _If an Xyz monster you control is targeted for an attack or by a card effect: Target that monster; negate the attack or effect, and if you do,  
_ _Special summon from your Extra deck in attack position, 1 Xyz monster that is 1 Rank higher than that target, by using that target as the Xyz material.  
_ _(This special summon is treated as an Xyz summon. Xyz materials attached to that target also become Xyz materials on the summoned monster.)_

"Hmph." Even with 2000 attackpoints, Dark Garnex could not overpower Blaze Falcons defense. But the dark cubic beast could still destroy the last Tribute Lanius on the field. "Dark Garnex gains its powers from killing cards! With your raptor dead, it tributes itself to give me Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast!" The level 2 Cubic regressed to black ooze, and resummoned two of the Vijam Cubic seeds in defense mode. "But I havent forgotten what your monster could do, Adamant! I will never forget the blaze!" Instead of summoning Blade Garoodia, he passed the turn to his opponent. "You knew then, that I would stop both cycles." In his turn, Adamant detached one material from Blaze Falcon. "You have reached the fifth rank again, Kyle. Attack directly, Blaze Falcon!" The Falcon fired every laser cannon in its wings and blasted all special summoned monsters on the field at once. Kyle took 500 points of damage for all three hits.

Kyle's LP: 6500

"Stop the cycle? You can never stop that, Adamant! I only come back stronger each time!" Kyle shouted through the flames and explosions. It took the raidraptor that defeated him before to even scratch him this time. "When Indiora Doom Volt is destroyed, I can special summon three Cubic monsters from my graveyard and add a Cubic monster from my deck to my hand!" The dying emperor brought Duza the Vessel, and two Vijawn Seeds back in defense mode. It also placed a Buster Gundhil Cubic Behemoth card in Kyle's hand. Additionally, Duja's effect reactivated to send a third Cubic Karma spell card to the graveyard. "Then.. witness its second ability. Blaze Falcon attacks directly while it still possesses XYZ-materials!" Adamant entered the battle phase, and his blazing bird made a beeline towards the duelist Kyle. If it could land a hit, it could destroy one of his Cubics as well. "Ha! When you declare a direct attack, I can activate Cubic Rebirth!" But Kyle negated the attack. Or rather his trap did. "Rgh."

"Cubic Rebirth stops one direct attack, and summons as many copies of your card from the deck, hand or graveyard." No copies were summoned, as Blaze Falcon's copies would reside in the extra deck. "Either way, Rebirth places one Cubic Counter on your monster." More strange eye-filled slime lashed out, infecting Blaze Falcon. It could use its powers no more. "And finally, this trap will special summon one Cubic monster from my hand!" Now he brought out Blade Garoodia(3/0/0), in defense mode. "Kyle.. You have grown as a duelist. I can not deny that. But this is not the way you to develop, in anger.." Adamant activated a normal spell. "No matter where you take it, I will rise with you! I activate Rank-Up-Magic: Raid Force!" Blaze Falcon turned into pure energy. "XYZ-summon! Raidraptor Revolution Falcon!" And so Adamant materialized the Falcon(6/2000/3000). "When this monster is summoned, while it has a raidraptor material attached, one monster on the field is destroyed and half of its attackpoints are taken from your lifepoints!" The revolutionary raidraptor ascended, breaking through the ceiling of the lounge to reach its ultimate height. From there it dropped a bomb that landed straight on top of Duza, breaking it to pieces and also shattering the floor.

Kyle's LP: 5600

"This place is falling apart!" Alice yelled as she and June retreated to the back of the room. "Kyle, I thought you intended to keep this duel between us!" The duel was causing more damage than Adamant intended. His monsters were made 'real' by the presence of the Cubics as well. "Hahahaha! So this is the great rank 6 Falcon?!" Kyle was barely listening. "Eh.. what.. what's happening to him now?" And he did not look much the same either, much to Alice's horror. When he walked out of the flames, his skin was turning black in places and his veins were clearer to see on his arms and neck. "It's the Cubics. Their power is taking over." June was not used to this, they were dealing with something as ancient as countless of histories. It all just came across as sickening. "Adamant, if that was the best you could do. Then we're disappointed!" Kyle was itching to drew his next card. "All of your training, tests, duels. They can't prepare you for this, nothing can! Ahahaha!"

(To be Continued in Redux 023: What doesn't Kill You)

 **New Cards used by Adamant  
** _Rank-Up-Magic: Escape Force (+)_

-  
Raidraptor Replica

 _(+ Based on the spell used by Shun in YGO Arc-V)_

 **New Cards used by Kyle  
** Cubic Spawn Vijam  
Geira Guile, the Cubic King  
Duza the Meteor Cubic Vessel  
Vulcan Dragni, the Cubic King  
Dark Garnex, the Cubic Beast  
Indiora Doom Volt, the Cubic Emperor  
Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast

-  
Cubic Karma  
Cubic Wave

-  
Wall of Disruption  
Cubic Rebirth


	68. What Doesnt Kill You

**Redux 23: What doesn't Kill You**

"Use the lost cards, eh? Well what good are they if they bring this whole place down?" Marie Celeste ranted to herself as the tower experienced its umpteenth tremor. The effects of the duel between the Cubic duelist and Adamant could be heard and felt several floors up. "And where are all the others? Why.." And soon the noise struck much closer to home. "Haaa?" She spun around, a pair of destructive dragons turned her walls into ruins. "You two?!.." She moaned wjem Uno and August came in through the opening. "You've never heard of doors, have you?" The barriers in this tower weren't built to withstand indefinite punishment. Still she didn't expect these two to just keep hammering at the forcefields until they gave in. "We make our own doors." August declared angrily. "Your tin duelists cannot delay us, your pathetic traps cannot hold us.."

"Yeah yeah yeah, I get it. You're not happy. But it might do you a little good to think before you act. One of those monsters could have destroyed the portal. Then we'd all be stuck here." She chided him. "Rrrgh. I don't see the portal here, do I?" The red duelist nearly flew into another frenzy. But Uno put his hand up. "Celeste. Turn of all your other traps, shields and drones, before any of my friends get hurt. Then we'll see about reopening negotiations, now that we're in a position of power. Unless you want to duel us." Uno wondered if she would like to be outnumbered this time. "Bah..." The woman grumbled. Of course Ichirou was not around to be useful at a time like this. "That's how everything is done nowadays." Still, she activated the dueldisk hidden in her coat and automatically inserted her cards. "But statistically, a duel will give me better odds." As she started drawing cards, her eyes scanned the monitors to her left _. "Just a little more."_ The upload was near completion. She just needed to stall these two for a few minutes.. and hope they didn't understand all the information on the screens around them.

...

Adamant's LP: 2900 Kyle's LP: 5600

Kyle and Adamant were locked in their destructive showdown. While the Raidraptors were now up to their sixth rank with Revolution Falcon(6/2000/3000), Kyle would soon overpower it. "I banish Cubic Wave from the graveyard to activate its effect. For each Cubic monster I banish, one Cubic counter will take over your monsters!" His spell banished Vulcan Dragni's spirit to give the Falcon a counter, negating its effects. "I send three Cubic monsters to my graveyard, to special summon Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth!" Two Vijam Cubic Seeds(1/0/0) and one Blade Garoodia the Cubic Beast(3/0/0) collided and formed one heinous entity. Two spiraling green towers floated in the air, attached to a central third tower by two Vijam eyes. A third eye opened in the creature's core(4/0/0), and a series of curved blades extended from the sides like wings. "Now that Buster Gundil has been summoned this way, he will gain 3000 attackpoints. And he can attack you three times in each battle phase, Adamant!" Kyle could not contain himself any longer, darkness pulsed through his veins and he slammed his chest. "First I will kill your Revolution Falcon!" The bizarre behemoth atomized the falcon warmachine with three precise thunderbolts. "Then you will follow!"

Adamant's LP: 1900

"Ngh." Adamant clutched his own chest. "I activate Raptors Force!" But the death of his XYZ-falcon demanded a follow-up, so he forced himself to flip his set spell. "Because a Raidraptor was destroyed, I evolve one from the graveyard." The silhouette of a Falcon rose from the ashes of destruction. "Is this rank 7 now? No?" The targeted XYZ-monster was not Revolution Falcon or even Blaze Falcon. It was Blade Burner Falcon that gave itself a new body. "I XYZ-summon Raidraptor - Étranger Falcon in defense mode!" The warbird was now a steel and gold falcon(5/2000/2000) with red energy lines across its body. "What is this, Adamant? Have you hit the limit so hard that you're alreading crashing back down? It wont add up to anything. I'll kill as many as it takes, Buster Gundhil! Attack!" The Behemoth made it rain lightning on the flying arsenal, bringing it down. "There is always time to make a change!" Adamant grabbed the destroyed card. "If Etrange Falcon is destroyed, I can attach this card to any Raidraptor in my graveyard, and summon it to my field!" The hole in the floor burned with newfound light. "!?" The card Adamant chose was Revolution Falcon(6/2000/3000).

"That one again!?" Kyle twitched. "I could have gone higher. but the best solution is not always the strongest card." If Adamant summoned Arsenal Falcon instead, it could have reached any rank he wanted. But Satellite Cannon Falcon and Ultimate Falcon would not put out as much damage as Revolution Falcon right now. And Etrange Falcon's effect was the only way to regain control of it. "And all the lives you destroyed, was that your best solution too? You know the Cubics are a part of it too; of Doms treasures. You wanted to have this!" More of the skin on Kyle's neck grew pitchblack. He banished Cubic Karma from his graveyard to add a Cubic Mandala trap card to his hand and to place that trap down on the field. "This was a lesson I only learned recently, Kyle." Adamant turned around to look at Alice. "I thought I had to the strongest. That I needed to acquire power similar to yours. Now I see, more than ever, that those some powers are meant to be forgotten. Revolution Falcon attacks!" The bird of revolution charged the Cubic Behemoth. Weakening it(0/0) with jet flames before destroying it with its wings.

Kyle's LP: 3600

"Go ahead, destroy it! It doesn't matter!" Much like Indiora Doomvolt, Buster Gundil's effect triggered upon its demise. The effect summoned three Cubics from the graveyard; three Vijam Cubic Seeds, and placed a Cubic card from the deck in Kyle's hand. "The more you hurt me, the more powerful I become! I will never stop chasing you!" Kyle chose to add a Cubic monster with a level of 10; Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord. "Sometimes you have to sacrifice something, to create something.." Adamant moved to the second main phase and activated Revolution Falcon's second effect to destroy one of the Vijam Seeds. "Raidraptor Singing Lanius." And as long as Adamant controlled his XYZ-monster, he could summon the tiny singing Lanius(1/100/100) from his hand in defense mode. "I reactivate Raidraptor - Nest." With two Raidraptors under his wing, the continuous spell regained its effect and searched the deck for one more card; Raidraptor Booster Strix.

"Do you see? I don't care anymore what happens to me." By now the darkness covered everything but Kyle's face and his hair turned pale grey. "I am taking you down with me, Adamant! Raaaaaaah!" He screamed as he drew his next card. "Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord can be summoned if I show you three Cubic cards in my hand!" Kyle turned his hand around, which held Unification of the Cubic Lords, a second Dark Cubic Lord monster, and another Buster Gundil Cubic Behemoth. "I call the Crimson Nova!" A cube of energy was summoned to the middle of the room, which contained a masked torso. Four eye seeds appeared in the air, and cubes of flesh grew around them. The cubes created shoulders, claws and a serpents tail. This was the form of the Cubic Lord(10/3000/0). "Monsters with 3000 attackpoints or less can't activate their effects against Crimson Nova! Die, Revolution Falcon!" Kyle's new monster raised its left arm and attacked. A swinging axe blade completely dismantled Revolution Falcon. Neither it nor the Raidraptor Booster Strix card in Adamants hand could hinder Crimson Nova. "Kgh!" The damage cut into Adamant as well, slicing into his left shoulder.

Adamant's LP: 900

"If Crimson Nova destroys a monster, it can attack again!" The Dark Lord used the shearing blades of its right arm to cut through Raidraptor Singing Lanius. "But that's not the part you should be affraid of, Adamant! What you should fear is Crimson Nova's final power! During each endphase, it blows away 3000 lifepoints from each player!" Kyle placed two trap cards down on his field and allowed his turn to end. "Three thousand!?" Alice flinched. "He can't survive that!" Kyle's lifepoints would be okay, Adamants's definitely would not. He needed one of his last defenses to make it out alive. "Raidraptor - Silent Roar!" By revealing Booster Strix in his hand, a trap activated to negate the effect of Crimson Nova in the nick of time. "You would destroy yourself along with me?" Adamant did not take any damage, but neither did Kyle now.

 _Raidraptor - Silent Roar, Counter Trap_  
 _When your opponent activates a monster card or effect, reveal 1 "Raidraptor" card in your hand: Negate that effect._  
 _If you control a "Raidraptor" monster: you can also activate this card the turn it was set._

"That is what I said, Adamant! I would gladly die, if it meant ridding the world of you for good!" While it was still the endphase, Kyle activated the trap he set in his previous turn. "Have this; Cubic Mandala! All the monsters that were destroyed will be summoned back to your field, with their attackpoints set to zero and their effects negated with cubic counters!" The Raidraptors Revolution Falcon(0/3000) and Singing Lanius(0/100) flew out of the graveyard, with their wings covered in Cubic slime. "As long as these monsters are on your field, you cannot use any of your monsters effects, Adamant!" Finally the endphase ran out. "..But what about your brother? What if he gets better? Then you wont be around to see him again!" Alice shouted. There had to be something left of the old Kyle in that terrifying appearance. "He is never coming back. There is nothing you can say, nothing Adamant can do!" Yet Kyle was beyond reason. "I don't.. Can't you help him?" She turned to June. The telepath shook her head solemnly. "There's too much power inside. Those monsters wont let him listen."

"There is one chance, to return him. A brief window." Adamant stated all of the sudden. "Huh?" At the start of his turn, Adamant activated Allure of Darkness to draw two new cards and banish Booster Strix from his hand. One of the new cards was the inspiration for Adamant's claim. "I enter the next phase." He declared, as the battle phase began. "You what? What are you going to attack with!?" Kyle laughed; neither Falcon nor Lanius could move an inch with the Cubic Counters infesting their bodies. "With the power you claim to control. I activate Rebellion!" Adamant used a quickplay spell. "What!?" The spell targeted Crimson Nova, pulling it away from his master. "Rebellion takes control of your monster this battle phase! I.." Within seconds of gaining the Dark Lord's control Adamant could feel an immense pressure. "Gaaah!" He expelled heavy breaths, while his heart raced like a hunted man. "Adamant? What did you.." This did not look like a good idea at all. "...direct attack!" Adamant declared the attack. Crimson Nova swept its claws across the room to slam Kyle into a wall. "Argh!"

Kyle's LP: 600

"Now! While I still control it!" Adamant shouted. This was the 'chance' he was talking about. "Yes." June nodded and extended her hand towards Kyle. "You? What are you doing?" Kyle screamed. She was nowhere near him, yet he could feel her hands on his head. "I am trying to free your mind from the Cubics hold, Kyle." She said as she held her other hand against her temple. "No. I don't want that! I don't want to go back! I can't!" He started punching and taking swings at the air. "You do not want to be weak again, I can hear you. But you can go back, people always can. Just look at the legend you brought back to life. Whatever it is that happened to your brother, to Carl, there are methods to reverse it. Just stand down, and let me help you." June could feel resistance, and she could also see the strain Crimson Nova was placing on Adamant's body. He could not keep this battle phase going forever. "You can.. you would?" However Kyle was starting to listen, a part of his soul still wanted to be be reunited with his brother. "Of course. No matter how far you go, it is never too late to help someone."

"June, pull back!" It was too late, Adamant lost control. He had to let go of Crimson Nova. "That was not enough!" Her hand snapped back. ".. the monster.." Alice saw Crimson Nova return to Kyle, and his body underwent another transformation. "It's not just the monster. Kyle resisted me too, his anger overpowered him. These Cubics feed off his darkness and pain, and he feeds on their power." It was a perpetual loop, one that could only be broken by Kyle himself. And he did not want too. "..Your turn." Adamant switched his monsters to defense mode and placed a trap card down. He also reactivated the Raidraptor Nest spell to add a Raidraptor Avenge Vulture monster to his hand. He could not do anything else. "My turn!" If Kyle wanted too, he could just end his turn and let them both die to Crimson Nova's effect. "Die.. I wont die.. only you.. Adamant." He had other plans, fortunately and unfortunately. It started with a normal spell. "I activate Fusion Conscription I can add one of the fusion materials for my fusion monster to my hand!" He revealed a Cubic monster in his extra deck, one that required three Crimson Nova fusion materials. "I will add the third Crimson Nova to my hand!"

"Fusion!?" Alice was shocked. These things could combine as well? "Unification of the Cubic Lords!" They did. Kyle activated a trap to fuse the Dark Cubic Lord on his field with the two Dark Cubic Lords in his hands. "Fusion Summon! CRIMSON NOVA TRINITY!" Red blood covered the body of the Cubic lord(12/4500/3000) and its arms turned to long blade-clawed tentacles. The masked face oozed out of the cube, growing a second body on top with another set of four arms and thick devil horns. "You filth, you vermin! You wanted to control us? You never could!" Kyle's voice was distorted with an echo, while his body twisted and expanded through several cube-shaped mutations. He did not look human anymore. "When we, Crimson Nova Trinity, attack. Half of your life will fall!" The fused lord grabbed Revolution Falcon with its many arms and constricted it into a fine powder. "Kgah!" Adamant's body did not take the loss of life well. He coughed up blood. "Yes! This is what you asked, this is what you worked all your life for! A duel like the old legends! Are you satisfied, champion?"

Adamant's LP: 450

"This was.. what I wanted." Adamant wiped the blood from his mouth. "But. I was a fool." He stood upright and looked Kyle in the eyes. "I am sorry... for what happened to your brother, Kyle." His words made Kyle recoil. "Sorry? You're _sorry_? What is this? You never apologize for anything, Adamant!" Kyle gnashed his teeth and ordered another strike. "When Trinity destroys a monster, he can attack again!" The Fused Crimson Nova cut Singing Lanius to pieces and halved Adamants lifepoints once more. With the last Raidraptor destroyed, Cubic Mandala selfdestructed. "I.. kgh.. never looked back to the past, Kyle. I wanted to keep fighting." Adamant kept talking through the pain. "Stop it, stop using my name!" Kyle moved to the end of his turn.

Adamant's LP: 225

"I cannot undo what I have done... But, that does not make the past less valuable. I do not remember Carl, I wish I could... But I sent too many through the gate, he was not the only one. And in the end, it served no purpose. Our entire goal was founded by a lie." Adamant activated a spell, Rank-Up-Magic: Soul Shave Force. "!?" The spell took Revolution Falcon from the graveyard and ranked it up into Raidraptor Satellite Cannon Falcon(8/3000/3000). Adamant had to pay half of his lifepoints again to use this spell however. "This wont work either, Adamant! Trinity cannot be targeted by your card effects! We cannot be destroyed! Even if you found a way to destroy us, we will destroy you with Unification of the Cubic Lords!" The trap that Kyle used to summon his fusion Cubic possessed a second effect that activated when a Cubic monster was killed. It would summon a Cubic monster from the deck. With Adamant's lifepoints this low, Kyle only had to summon one of the Cubic Kings to inflict fatal effect damage. And he would win.

Adamant's LP: 112.5

"You are right, Kyle." Adamant took a deep breath. He wanted to be at full power for this. "Rank 8 cannot measure up to this either. You reached the peak of dueling. And there is still a part of you that cares about that, a part that June and Alice could see too. Otherwise you would have let Crimson Nova kill us both. ...I am sorry that it had to be this way.. I activate the Rank-Up-Magic: Skip Force!" The Sattelite Falcon cast a golden shadow in the light of the new spell. "Skip?" Alice was not familiar with this rank-up-spell, or this evolution. "Yes. The Ultimate Raidraptor. Alice, you did not need to reach these heights to surpass me. That showed me that power was not everything. But, you.. Cubic Lord, only seek power. So that is what you will receive! I XYZ-summon Raidraptor ULTIMATE FALCON!"

With the Satellite Cannon as an XYZ-material, the golden-winged Ultimate Falcon(10/3500/3000). "Wowww..." Alice stared at it with mystified wonder. "Quite impressive." June smiled. "Ultimate? Is this your peak? Adamant?" Kyle was not as impressed. His Dark Lord left it behind in raw power. "It is. I did not reach the legends.. but that is thing about them, Kyle. Legends are the stories of those already gone beyond life." Adamant detached Revolution and Satellite Cannon Falcon from the Ultimate Raidraptor. "Ultimate Falcon reduces the attackpoints of all monsters! And the effects of all your cards are sealed!" The effect did not target, so it had an effect on Crimson Nova Trinity. Twice the fused lord(2500/3000) lost a thousand of its attackpoints. "No? What have you done?!" He was not the top monster on the field anymore. "Returned you to your past, Cubic Lord." Adamant closed his fist. "Ultimate Falcon. Attack the enemy!" The Raidraptor gathered energy at the tip of its wings and halo. The energy converged on one spot, created a black bolt of power and shot towards Crimson Nova Trinity. "Adamant!" The blast impacted with his lord's body.

Kyle's LP: 0

The whole left side of the floor was reduced to rubble by the resulting explosion. "Where.. where is he?" Wherever Kyle stood before, that part of the lounge was gone. "I can still sense him, he is still alive. And he is close.." June claimed.. "Close?" Adamant looked down the hole. It was to dark to see anything down there. "!?" Suddenly a hand reached out of the shadows. "Kyle!" The duelist was clinging to the rubble, throwing down pieces as he climbed up the collapsing floor. "Let me help you!" The hole was not big enough for his Falcon. But Adamant was not going to let someone else throw his life away. "You.. want to save me?" Kyle grinned back at Adamant, his face and body still halfway corrupted by the Cubics darkness. "Fine.." He pulled his other hand up. "Yes. Take my..."

"Adamant. Stop!" June's warning was a second too late. "No!" Kyle used his mutated hand to impale Adamant. "hrgk!" The claws pierced the duelists chest. " _Now_ , I am saved! Aha! Hahaha!" Kyle jumped back and fell into the shadows, laughing all the way down.

(To be Continued in Redux 022: Shrinking of the Universe)

 **New Cards used by Adamant  
** Raidraptor - Etrange Falcon

-  
Rank-Up-Magic: Skip Force

 _-  
Raidraptor - Silent Roar (+)_

 **New Cards used by Kyle  
** Buster Gundil the Cubic Behemoth  
Crimson Nova the Dark Cubic Lord

-  
Crimson Nova Trinity the Dark Cubic Lord

-  
Fusion Conscription

-  
Cubic Mandala  
Unification of the Cubic Lords

 _(+ Based on the trap used by Shun in YGO Arc-V)_


	69. Shrinking of the Universe

**Redux 22: Shrinking of the Universe**

Uno/August's LP: 8000 Marie Celeste's LP: 8000

"You'll let me take the first turn? You're too kind." Marie took on the two invaders by herself, and started with a familiar monster. "I normal summon Ancient Gear Hunting Hound. And if I do, it inflicts 600 points of damage." The mechanical dog(3/1000/1000) sprinted across the room, lobbing a fireball at Uno and August at the same time. "Rgh."

Uno/August's LP: 7400

"Then I activate the second effect of the Hunting Hound to fusion summon an Ancient Gear fusion monster!" Hound fused itself with an Ancient Gear Wyvern in her hand. They created a a dragonic devil(8/1000/1800) of metal, with wings of blades and claws of cannons. It was summoned in defense mode. "This card is Ancient Gear Howitzer, a fusion of two Ancient Gears. It causes 1000 points of damage each turn. Also its unaffected by all other card effects." The Howitzer machine fired several shots at her opponents to drop their lifepoints again. "I gotta say. This shared lifepoints system is making it much easier for me than if you dueled me one at a time." She placed two cards face-down in her spell/trap zone.

Uno/August's LP: 6400

"The easier we can bring you down too, you know!" Uno placed two pendulum monsters on his field, Performapal Gold Fang (scale 3) and Performapal Momoncarpet (scale 7). "Pendulum summon! He summoned two monsters from his hand, Performapal Secondonkey(4/1000/2000) and Performapal Uni(4/800/1500). "Secondonkey places one Performapal monster from my deck to my hand, Performapal Corn! And Performapal Uni, when she is special summoned, lets me summon one extra level 3 or lower Performapal from my hand!" The donkey performer searched the second member of the two-girl Unicorn team. And Performapal Uni special summoned her, Performapal Corn(3/600/1000) the blue-haired girl with a horn on her head. "Uni Corn? Oh I get it." Marie rolled her eyes. "When a Performapal is on the field, with 1000 attackpoints or less, Performapal Corn can switch it and herself to defense mode, and add an Odd-Eyes monster to my hand!" Corn locked hands with Uni, performing a quick spin and dance which ended with them extending their hands towards Uno's deck. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Uno took the pendulum dragon of course. He summoned it(7/2500/2000) to the field by tributing Uni and Corn.

"All that urgency, and you still have time to explain what your cards do. I guess you really missed that dragon." Marie shrugged. "But then I knew your turn was going to look something like this. So.." She flipped her trap card; Torrential Tribute. "Ah!?" A wave of water surged from one end of the computer room to the other, taking Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Secondonkey away. "Your monster is not affected I see." Ancient Gear Howitzer survived the destruction, thanks to its complete effect immunity. "You don't seem that bothered yourself." Celeste was a little annoyed that Uno could keep smiling despite the setbacks. "Well you know me." Uno activated the spell, Illusion Balloon. "Always thinking ahead." Illusion Balloon took the top five cards of his deck and summoned one Performapal out of them. "Oh." Was all Marie had to say when Performapal Splashmammoth(6/1900/2300) came out of the deck. "Splashmammoth attacks Howitzer!" The mammoth shot a stream of water from its trunk to fire its ball at the mechanical devil and turn it to shambles. "When a Performapal attacks and destroys a monster, Gold Fang will add 1000 points of damage to the attack!" Marie took another hit as the golden wolf jumped from its pendulum zone to slash its claws across her arm. "Geh!"

Marie Celeste's LP: 7000

"Why did I leave the solid vision on again?" She thought out loud as she rubbed her arm. "You brought this upon yourself." August grunted as he waited for his turn to start. "Oh I did? Last time I checked, you started this invasion!" She grabbed a card from her deck. "When Ancient Gear Howitzer is destroyed, I can special summon an Ancient Gear from my deck, regardless of its summoning costs! I summon Ancient Gear Golem Ultimate Pound!" The newest model of gear giants(8/3000/3000) landed on the floor with a heavy thud. "What's your answer to that?"

"This.. is my answer." August took three cards from his hand and placed them on his field. "Pendulum! Summon!" He special summoned a Night Dragolich(4/1700/0), the tuner Giant Pairfish(6/2000/1200) and Bi'an Yang Zing of the Earth(3/1600/0). "Oh. Right. Shared pendulum scales." Marie grumbled. "Your machine will cower before Night Dragolich!" The effect of Dragolich, a walking wyrm corpse wrapped in blue flames, switched special summoned non wyrm monsters to defense mode and reduced their original defense to zero. This affected both the Gear Golem(3000/0) and Splashmammoth(1900/0). "Synchro summon!" Doing away with his usual long speech, August special summoned Chaoefeng, Phantom of the Yang Zing(9/2800/2200) by tuning the Pairfish with Bi'An. "Attack!" Night Dragolich rushed towards the Golem. "The powers of monsters with the same attribute as Chaofengs Yang zing materials are sealed!" The Earth Yangzing formed part of the Phantom Yangzing, leading to the negation of the earth-attribute Ancient Gears. "Attack!"

Dragolich charged and... "Time out. I flip Book of Moon." .. finished destroying Ultimate Pound as Chaofeng was switched to a face-down defending position. "What?" The synchro monster's effect seal disappeared along with its appearance. "Ha! When Ultimate pound is destroyed, I can take an Ancient gear from my graveyard.. Hunting Hound. And It grabs a Polymerization card from my deck!" Marie added the two new cards to her hand. "You're trying to fuse Ancient Gear Chaos Giant again!" Uno accused her. "If it works, it works. But.." August placed a trap card down and ended his turn. "That annoying wyrm forces me to to alter plans a bit." Marie activated two spell cards; her face-down Ancient Gear Fortress and Ancient Gear Catapult. "That combo again?" The Catapult destroyed one of Marie's own cards; the Fortress, to special summon an Ancient Gear Gadget(4/500/0) from her deck. The Fortress upon destruction special summoned an Ancient Gear fusion material from the graveyard; the mechanical winged dragon Ancient Gear Wyvern(4/1700/0). Both were powerdrained by Dragolich.

"When Ancient Gear Wyvern is special summoned, I can add an Ancient Gear card to my hand. I think I pick Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon!" Marie grabbed an even larger mechanical dragonoid from the deck and quickly summoned it to her field. "I believe your Dragolich's effect does not work against normal summons, does it?" Ancient Gear Gadget and Wyvern left the field, and the Lich's curse ended. The newly invoked Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon(9/3000/3000) was immune to its effects. "Oh this is very nice. Reactor Dragon can make two attacks each turn, and inflicts piercing damage. Traps and spells wont stop its attack, and monsters cannot activate their effects either. Now.. I know who I'd attack." Marie clenched her fist and ordered a strike on Chaofeng. "Momoncarpet will halve the damage!" Uno declared before the dragons blast turned the Phantom Yangzing into a smouldering crater.

Uno/August's LP: 6000

"Thanks for reminding me." Marie pointed her finger towards Uno's pendulums. "By the way. Each time Reactor Dragon attacks, it destroys a spell or trap card." Momoncarpet spontaneously shattered. "Ah!" And now Reactor Dragon turned on its second target: Splashmammoth. "And thank your friends Dragolich for removing your monsters defenses." Reactor Dragon stabbed through the mammoth with its tail, hitting Uno with all of his attackpoints at the same time. "Gah!" Uno was thrown to the ground and Reactor Dragon shattered Performapal Gold Fang. Uno could not even block the damage with Performapal Uni. "No Celeste. Thank You." But he was laughing somehow. "Hm? Why?" Celeste finished her turn warily. "For giving me something to return." Uno stood up and drew his next card.

Uno/August's LP: 3000

"First, I will use her." Uno normal summoned Performapal Trump Witch the masked painter(1/100/100). "I tribute Performapal Trump Witch to add Polymerization to my hand!" The witch gave him the same spell that Marie kept in her hand. "Fusion?" After that Uno used the spell, Pot of Riches. The pot moved three pendulums (Gold Fang, Momoncarpet, Trump Witch)from the extra to the main deck, to draw two new cards. "Yeah? And what are the odds that.." Before the sentence could even be finished, Uno placed two new pendulum monsters on the field, Performapal Fire Mufflerlion (Scale 5) and Dragonpit Magician (scale 8). "Already?" Marie Celeste could not believe his luck. "And I will pendulum summon the monsters I can bring back!" Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon(2500/0) and Splashmammoth(1900/0). "But your own partner is.." Dragolich drained their defenses away too, and switched them to a defensive position. "Oh I can take care of that...

"I activate Polymerization! Fusion summon! Performapal Odd-Eyes Metal Claw!" Odd-Eyes fused with the Performapal to create a weird beastly monstrosity; a silver wolfman(8/3000/2000) in odd-eyes colored armor with claws and spikes. "Performapal and Odd Eyes?" August was also surprised at this visually drastic turn of events. "Why isn't it.." For some reason Night Dragolich's power did not affect the fused beast. "Odd-Eyes Metal Claw is immune to all card effects if it was fused the classic way: a la polymerization!" Uno entered his battle phase. "And to enhance his act, he gains 300 attackpoints when he attacks!" The armored wolf(3300/2000) brandished his claws and glared at Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon. "Rgh." This could be the end for Marie Celeste. "Huh?" But at that point the tower shook once again. That happened a few times before during their duel. "What.. is that?" But this rumbling sounded louder and felt heavier than those that came before it.

"Crud! The Cubics!" Even Celeste was so distressed that she turned away from the duelists to check the monitor. "Cubics?" August assumed she was referring too a group of cards. Except they did not ring a bell. "That's a the set I gave to one of our duelists to slow you down. I should have guessed it was a bad idea! We didn't even test their damage output!" She pushed several buttons on her dueldisk to turn the big screen on. "Adamant?!" There Uno could see June, Alice and the XYZ-duelist who was drawn into a destructive battle with Kyle several floors down. "You gave a power like that to one of your own? You have no clue what you have unleashed!" August growled. "But.. Adamant is winning. It should be.." They could see the Ultimate Falcon unleash its final attack on Crimson Nova Trinity, and the resulting chaos that followed. "That's just the last available recording. The cameras crashed after." She explained. "Crashed? Then.." The room they were in had to be caved in, or worse! "Marie. Let me use my pendulum. I have to help them! Please!" Uno was desperate to get down there. And he could only go if she turned off her anti-pendulum tech.

"It's done." Marie moved over to the main console and clicked a button. "...Thank you." Uno grabbed his now glowing pendulum and immediately warped down to where the others were.

"What is your game?" August was slightly surprised that this woman gave in so easily. "Game? Bah, think whatever you want, but I am not a savage. Death is too permanent a solution." She placed her hand on her chest. "Besides, now I have less of you to deal with." Uno never finished his turn, August was stuck with her. "I knew it would be more of the latter. You lack a duelists spirit." August chuckled. "Oh please. I am only doing this because.." Behind her visor, her eye darted to the left one more time. She stifled a laugh. "..I needed the time." The upload was finished. And that wasn't the only good news. "Come on in!" The doors to her room opened, sending in several templars. "More of your tin toys?" The red duelist cursed. "You shouldn't have let me go back to my console." Celeste called for them while she turned off the pendulum disruptors. "So you're not going to finish this?" The drones were taking over for her, while she moved to the door. "I am done with this place, with this everything. You can have it." Celeste mockingly waved at him. "You can even have the portal, if you make it out of here alive. Bye!" And she was gone.

...

"Adamant fell over backwards after Kyle stabbed him in the chest. "Adamant.. Adamant!" A panicking Alice rushed to his side, trying to cover his wounds with her hands. There wasn't even that much blood, the attack cauterized the flesh instantly. "What do I do? What do I do?" But Adamant was in pain, convulsing and could not talk to her. "What should I do? Please.. help me..help him." She didn't know the first thing about treating injuries, and this did not look like anything normal. "I can't.. do anything, but take away the pain." That wouldn't save him. "Then do that!" It was better than nothing. "I already did." June touched Adamant's forehead. He stopped writhing immediately. "That man infected him. It's.. a dark power." Her hand could barely handle a brief touch. "But we can fix it. We have to!"

"Alice!" Like a lifesaving angel, Uno appeared in that moment. "! Adamant!" Though he was relieved to see that Alice and June made it out alive, he was shocked by Adamant's state. "Uno.. I.. he.." Alice would have been happy to see him any other time, but she suffered too many emotions at once to even form a sentence. "He needs to be treated. There might still be a chance. Your palace has proper equipment for that." June thankfully managed to explain it all calmly and properly. "Eh.. yes.." Uno would have to ask questions later. Even though a lot weighed on his mind; doubts that June could pick up. "I can sense Iria and Zach, they are still alive. I will find them and I will find August, don't worry about them. Just leave, now." There was no time to argue. "I will. Alice, come on!" Uno and placed his hand on Adamant's arm and reactivated his crystal.

...

"Damn!" Eric gasped for air when Uno, Alice and Adamant reached the infirmary through another teleport. "Commander Adamant?! What did you do to him!?" Private Winters gasped when he noticed his unconscious former commander. "Talk later!" Uno dragged Adamant to the treatment pods and placed him inside. The computer immediately went to work on analyzing the injuries and treating them. "This.. this will work, right?" Alice stood in the background, squeezing her hands together and fidgeting. "It should.." Eric patted himself. "But why.. does he look like that?" Eric did not need a medical degree to tell that these wounds were not normal. "The mission! What went wrong at the fusion guild's place?" Winters shouted, demanding answers from the two. "I.." Alice shrunk behind Uno's back. "Calm down. We didn't do this. The mission is still ongoing, but Adamant was.. " Uno stopped. He lacked the details of the story. "Alice, it might help the machine if we knew what we are dealing with."

Uno could see Alice was having trouble talking about it, but they did all they could do besides waiting for results. "It was.. Kyle.. He still wanted revenge and the guild gave him strange monsters. He attacked Adamant even though he lost.. even though Adamant won!" She yelled. "What? Such foul play!" Winters clenched his fist in anger. "The guild.." Uno shuddered. Adamants condition was all because of the cards the guilds acquired. "It's my fault." He should never have let them get the Pendulum dragon. "No. It's mine. I should have helped him in the duel!" Alice protested. "Now everyone is getting hurt, Stonewell, dad, Adamant." She didn't even want to think of who could be next. "Hey. Stop blaming yourself! That's never good for anything. He'll be okay in no time, you'll see! Everyone else made it out so far! Stonewell got up just an hour ago, he's practically better than ever! Our folks were moved out of intensive care too! My mom's practically awake enough to start yelling at me again. I bet you can hear her down the halls if you listen! I am telling you. It's going to be fine." Eric assured her with his confident grin.

But that was when the treatment pods got their full results, and all the red lights and alarm sounds went off. "What is this? What now?" Alice freaked out. "I don't know. It's saying his heart is giving out and it can't find the cause!" Uno read the text on screen as fast as he could. "But why?" Winters looked inside. "That wound is not getting healed at all!" The scar on his chest looked even worse now, with black veins growing out of it. "It can't regenerate the tissue! Whatever it is, the machines do not affect it! We're.." Uno felt a lump in his throat. He almost couldn't say it. "We're losing him.." Time seemed to come a standstill. "No.." Alice didn't want to believe what she was hearing. Uno didn't want to believe what he was saying. But the truth was irrefutable, Adamants pulse was flatlining and his brain activity disappeared. "It can't.."

"?" Bright light from above descended to the emergency room. "Ana!?" His sister warped in front of the pod and, without saying a word, opened it. "What are.." Winters tried to stop her. "Guh." He was casually pushed back by an unseen force. Energy surrounded her, making it impossible to get near. "how long has he been like this?" She asked Alice. "What? I.. ten minutes?" She gave the most approximate number she could think of in that moment. Anastasia heard her and placed her hand on Adamant's wound. "Ana. What are you going to.. you're not." Uno's memory got another jolt, a glimpse of a scene lacking context. Yet it gave him a better understanding of what she was doing. "Whoa!" Eric took a step back when Anastasia's mere touch made the black scar shrivel. "You.. you're.. " It was as if she was looping back the last ten minutes, Adamants injuries disappeared and his eyes snapped wide open. "Where.. am I?" He had no idea how he got to this place. "You did it!?" Alice let out a cry of unbridled joy.

"Who is this woman?" Winters stammered. "She is my sister..." Uno stated. "Uno? How did I get here?" Adamant climbed out of the pod, slightly disoriented. "they brought you here. what is the last thing you remember?" Anastasia looked the revived man in the eyes. "The last thing?" Adamant looked into his own memories. "I was dueling, and then..." He recalled everything up until the very end, the last second before Kyle stabbed him. "Wait. Did you make him.. timetravel to before he got attacked?" Eric scratched his head. It sounded like she was using Marco's trick, except none of them went back in time or move to where they were ten minutes ago. "I was attacked? But then.." Adamant touched his own chest, looking for something that was not there anymore. "She has. That is her power." Uno remembered that too now. There was a reason for it. "Power? You can.. stop people from dying?" That was the wildest thing Alice ever heard. "it is not a power.. it is a blessing. given to me by my father." Anastasia moved a finger across the palm of her other hand. "remember.. when i said that he saved my life? this is how.. death can never catch me. and i gave some of that blessing to adamant.."

(To be Continued in Redux 021: Soul Survivor)

 **New Cards used by Uno Nisell  
** Performapal Corn

 **New Cards used by August  
** Night Dragolich

 **New Cards used by Marie Celeste  
** Ancient Gear Wyvern  
Ancient Gear Golem - Ultimate Pound  
Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon

-  
Ancient Gear Howitzer

-  
Book of Moon  
Ancient Gear Fortress

-  
Torrential Tribute


	70. Soul Survivor

**Redux 21: Soul Survivor**

Celeste climbed the stairs all the way to the top of the tower; a floor that could not be accessed with the elevator. "Huh." There she encountered Ichirou and a few other XYZ-guild members. "I am surprised you stuck around, Ichirou. Everyone else already bolted." She sneered. "Oh I know how it would look if I crossed over without you." He laughed humbly. "No, you're not an idiot, they follow me more than you." Marie walked to the gate. It was a rectangular metallic frame supported on a large platform and powered by half the energy in the city. Just turning it caused all lights in the tower to flicker. The inside of the frame formed a curtain of light, beyond which lied the other world. "I wonder. Should we destroy this machine, to make sure Adamant and the likes cannot follow us?" Ichirou suddenly proposed. "I am not going to destroy anything. Do I need to remind you that without Martel, this is our only gateway into this world? I am not cutting us off permanently." Celeste rasped. "Now get in."

"It was just a suggestion." Ichirou raised his hands and shrugged. "Then again, I am sure Adamant is no longer a problem."

...

"I... died?" Adamant trembled. "You couldn't have, sir." Winter replied. "you were dead. not anymore. you really do not.. remember anything?" Anastasia pulled her hand back to marvel at her work. "No." He was not sure how to feel about this at all. "Wait, wait, wait. Go back. What do you mean; Tempus blessed you?" Eric sputtered. "this... before i met him, i was a normal girl in a simple farmers village. one day i caught a cureless disease, and it took my life.. that was when father showed up, and healed me. i didn't know how at first. later i learned.. that he turned back time to before my death and gave me the cure my world had yet to invent... it was the same for marco. his family lived on the border of two countries. when war broke out between both sides, his family was caught in the middle. they could not get everyone out in time. he was one left behind; crushed underneath the rubble of his own home. father came as he lay there dying, chose him and gave him the power to reverse his own end. that is what father does, he visits those that were destined to die, and gives them a second chance."

"A second chance?" Alice looked back forth between her and Uno. "Then he did the same of you?" She wondered if Uno remembered that part of his past too. "I guess. I must have been too young to remember." Uno still could not visualize the faces of his original family, his original life. "But.. afterwards, you kept those powers? And if Tempus could do that, why didn't he save a lot more people?" Each answered question divided into a dozen new questions. "because it takes a lot, to save just one. and once you do, they will forever be marred. i didn't just keep the power to stop death, it became part of me." Anastasia suddenly took a surgical knife from the tray and cut her own wrist. "Eeeh!" Alice shrieked. "Dude!" But while she and Eric were left gasping for air, the blood flowed back into Anastasia's arm and the wound sealed itself. "Ana." Even her brother was appalled, though he knew that this would happen. "the blessing keeps me alive, at all time. Father made it so that every time I come close to death, time twists backwards for me to save me. that was why.. in the end.. i had to leave my original family. i no longer was a part of their world. you could see it as a curse as well, i suppose."

"Then why did he go through it at all?" Uno grunted. He would never know now why Tempus took him away. "Guilt." Adamant could answer that one. "Sir?" Winters rushed to his former commander as he tried to walk out of the treatment pod. "Tempus must have left many worlds behind, condemning billions of souls to oblivion each time. That is why he saved you, Marco and Uno. He didn't just want heirs, he wanted to soothe his own conscience." As someone who came face to face with his own regrets recently, the XYZ-duelist felt like he understood Tempus a little more now. "So.. uhm.. is Adamant immortal too now?" Eric tried to lift the heavy atmosphere. "no. father told me from the beginning that i could not pass the power on permanently. i think he believed that he made a mistake with me, and he wanted to be sure it would be repeated." She laughed briefly. It was strange sort of tearful laugh. "Well, I only followed about 10 % of every spoken words so far. But I am just glad to have the commander back. Excuse my informality, sir." Winters saluted the revived Adamant. "It is nothing. I..."

"Winters?" Adamant stopped. Rather, Winters stopped. "Wait.. what.." It was not just him noticing it, Eric and the others saw how the duelist stopped moving alltogether. "Why is it so.. quiet?" Everything else was put on hold too; the clocks, the machines and even the wind. "N..No.." It was a bizarre scenario, and to some also a haunting one. "It's.." This was what Alice experienced, before everything was destroyed. "You were saying sir?" However, just like that, the duelist snapped out of it. The silence broke and all resumed its normal course. "Winters I.. can you excuse us?" Adamant requested as he did not think the duelist needed to hear this. "Of course sir." Winters saluted again and left the treatment room. "Ana.. what was that!?" Uno immediately yelled. "?" He also felt something burning on his chest. "The pendulums are awake?" His crystal was glowing. So was the one on Anastasia's headband. "It's Marco, isn't it." Adamant surmised. "it is... temporary freezes are a symptom of a build-up towards a big temporal event. it has begun, he is going to jump back to the past."

"Damn it! Why can't I sense him then?" He thought that it would have been easier to track another pendulum crystal if it was being used like this. "i do not know. i do not.. i did not think he would actually go through with this.." Anastasia felt a shiver run up her spine. "Maybe, whatever Marco prepared while you were dueling the prisoner, was enough to cover his tracks?." Eric saw no other explanation. "But..how much time do we have?" Alice asked, her eyes darting left and right. "if he has gotten this far, then we only have an hour at best.." Anastasia shook her head. "The gate!" Uno now remembered the mission. "We still have a chance! Ana, I am going back to the fusion guild's tower! You stay here with the others, and tell them what is happening. Alice, Adamant, Eric; please hang in there. Use that communicator to call me if it happens again! I am going to stop my brother, I promise!" He did not have time to spare so he teleported away as soon as he was finished talking. "It's happening again.." Alice wished she could believe Uno. But.. she had been here before.

...

When he returned to the tower Uno made his pendulum take him to wherever August and/or June were. "Ah! You found the others!" Conveniently they appeared to have met up with Iria and Zach while he was gone. "Uno. What happened to Adamant?" Zach asked him right away. "He's fine now. It is.. a strange story." He answered. "Indeed." June commented, having apparently peeked into his mind to get that 'long story' in full. "So you did not leave for nothing. Not that I needed your help." August snorted. "Oh, I am sorry about that. But did you beat her? Did Celeste show you the portal?" Uno saw them standing in front of what he presumed to be the gate. "Hardly. The coward left more templars behind while she ran, she made it through the portal first." The red duelist began to say. "And he did need your help. He wouldn't be standing here if I hadn't shown up in time." Before June cut him off. "You prepared your fusions before hand. Of course they wouldn't have a chance then." August seemingly disapproved of being rescued. "Their fault for using this battle royal system." June shrugged.

"Okay! I get it. I'm sorry for abandoning you, I had to. But at least you found the gate now, right? Can we use it?" It looked like a normal rectangle now, Uno figured there would be more of a spectacle if it was active. "Unfortunately not." An irate Iria sat behind the controls. "Everything is intact, as far as I can see. But we can't get it to open, the fusion guild wont let us. Either they locked the controls from this side, or they are keeping their end of the portal closed." She had tried everything, and nothing worked. "Those stubborn fools. They must have experienced the same temporal shockwaves that we did." August slammed the side of the wall with his fist. "So you felt it too?"

Just then, Uno's pendulum released another burst of light. "Again?" The ambient noise of the machines stopped for a few seconds, and quickly returned to normal. "Yes. This is usually when we realize that Tempus.. that you.. are about to abandon the present. It's slower than usual, but that is the only blessing." June glanced at Uno. "It's not as easy to do when you're on your own. Every other time,me, my sister and him made the journey together." Uno responded, wondering if June said 'blessing' on purpose. "If we don't locate December and January, that extra time wont do us any good. Our future lies in the hands of the fusion guild, and I cannot see what their next move is going to be." She moaned. "Wait, maybe not. Maybe you can recreate the same event that catapulted you to this world in the first place?" Zach suggested. After all, Uno and the others didn't use a portal to get here. "That was a freak occurrence. We cannot control that. Nor can we control where and when we end up!" August grumbled.

"Hold on." Uno said as his communicator went off. "Yes?" He switched it to speaker-mode. "Hey, Uno. The hell is going on?" Tory yelled into the com. "Tory?" He was surprised to hear her voice. Stonewell was there too apparently, as he spoke next. "Your friends told us, but I still don't get it. Why do we see all these weird time glitches?" That was a good question, since Uno did not know either. "Because you're already desynched from normal timeflow. You used the pendulum to jump through space, which gives you a short-term immunity to shockwaves like this." June cleared it up. "Who is this?" Stonewell asked. "That's June, the lady who unscrambled your head. That's not important right now!" Tory snapped at him. "Well whatever it is, it sounds bad. Is there anything we can do?" Now Dom was talking too. The whole gang was there. "No I.. " Uno looked at the disciples and the travelers. "We are working on the gate! Just hold on!" He didn't know what else to say to them. _"Damn it. Damn it, Marco!"_

"?!" A thought occurred to Uno. _"Maybe there is one way."_ There was a higher power, one with even better sight than December. _"Margot..."_ The prophecy sisters. He had to ask them for help, it was the last measure. But how could he contact them? He usually only reached them one way.. "June, this will sound weird. But I know what I am doing." And she would probably know too, in a few seconds. Even if there was still the fact that thoughts about the prophecy sisters were obscured somehow. "Can you make me fall asleep?" He could try it himself, by damaging his pendulum or knocking himself on the head. But he'd rather take this option. "I think I know why you're asking me. And I can..." June raised one hand. "But I don't think this will work. Fortunately.." She zapped him and took away his consciousness in a snap. "I am willing to try anything."

...

It was happening again, it was going to happen to this world... and to her world. Alice wanted to tell them, tell someone, tell anyone. "Amelia? It's me! Alice.. hey.. how are you? I'm not interrupting anything am I?" The first thing she did was using the communicator to link up with someone who might as well have been family. "Huh? Alice? Uhm.. Me? I am fine.. Is there something wrong?" Amelia however was not aware of any terror in this hour, Alice realized just that from the way she replied. "Oh..." Of course, Amelia would not be aware of these strange time freezes. Nobody ever used a pendulum with her at their side. "Is there any reason you called?" But Amelia could tell something was up. Alice was as bad at hiding things from her, as she was from her own sister. "No. I was just wondering.. did anything happen.. with you and.. Emily?" She could not tell her, what would she even say? What good would a warning do to her, when the whole world was going to be destroyed? "No. I don't think so." Amelia was just happy enough right now not having to put up with a second mind in her body. "O..okay. Just checking." Alice almost wished she could talk to Emily. Her sister would know what to say. "Hey, you can talk to me any time. I think." Amelia offered. "Thanks.."

"Ah. I will call you later!" Alice hung up when spotted Anastasia walking through the halls, muttering strange things to herself. "Miss Anastasia?"

"alice.. brandt." The woman stopped dead. "Uh.. yes?" Alice wondered if she said something wrong. "perhaps you should come with me.." Anastasia sighed and started moving again. "Huh? With you? What about the others?" Alice stared down the hall of the infirmary. "they cannot help me. you can, maybe. maybe this is our last chance." The sister claimed, catching Alice's attention. "Chance? You have a plan?" She followed her. "there was always one last plan, my last plan. if it ever went too far." She stopped again in front of an elevator. "This way." She stepped inside, Alice cautiously did the same. "Where are we going?" Usually the lifts could take them to any place in an instant, but now it was taking quite a while. "to the top." It took a whole minute in fact, for them to get up to the very tip of the palace tower. "Wow.." They were far above the clouds now, Alice could see the moon and the darker sky. "can we even breathe out there?" All that seemed to be outside was a platform and a colorless forcefield. "we are still in the atmosphere, the tower provides us with life support."

The lady Nisell walked out into the open air. Alice was still wary. It did not seem cold outside though, nor was it hard to breathe. "alice.. brandt.. your story touched me, when i heard it." Anastasia said out of the blue. "Hu..huhhh?" Alice was slightly perturbed that she would bring that up. "you were there, when it happened before, you lost everything because of us.. because of me. you know this, yet you never attacked me for it. you did not scream words of hatred or resentment. you have a kind soul." Anastasia took in the high air and breathed out. "but i never told you, that i am sorry. it wouldn't do much now.. all we can do, is ensure that it never happens again. that is what i wanted, that is what they promised me. and marco broke that promise.." She walked back to the tower, towards a control panel on the side. "i wont let this end, no matter what it costs.." She inserted her golden millennium card into a slot, which triggered a signal that shot out of the tip of the tower. "What is that?" Alice couldn't see where the beam stopped. it was somewhere up in space.

"tell me, do you believe in a life after?" The lady asked her, again seemingly for no reason. "Wh-what? You mean like heaven.. and hell?" Alice shuddered. "I don't..know.." It was not something she liked to think about. "i do.. i was there.. i was in bliss when the disease finally took me away from my weak body. all i remember now is a light. there was something.. i don't know if i can go back there." She traced her finger across her palm again. "it is better to lose your life, than to have never lived at all." She whispered softly. "Miss.. Anastasia.. what is your plan?" Alice began to think that it was a mistake to come up here. "the control cities were built this way for a purpose. each palace tower can send and receive signals and energy from the satellite network above, and i have sent such a transmission to all towers across the union. now, no matter where marco is.. the final measure will find him." The melancholic way Anastasia spoke was not putting Alice's concerns to rest either. "The final measure?"

"to change everything, everyone, everywhere.. into this.." She pulled out a random card from her deck. "?! No!" Alice yelled. "You're going to turn everyone.. into a card? Just like the Templars? You can't do that! They didn't do anything!" People like Amelia, Zenshin, Stonewells real family; they would all be carded without warning. "Can't we.. do something else? Can't we use the network or those satellites to look for Marco?" She desperately proposed. "that was already attempted. my brother knows how to stay hidden. this is the only way. the satellites will sweep everything at once, including my brother. once we know where he is, we can apprehend him, and turn everyone else back. they wont remember what happened." The lady could make something so horrifying sound so mundane. Nonetheless, it was something Alice would never want to do. "But.. what if this doesn't stop your brother either?" There had to be other solutions, or there were none at all. "then,.. it will keep those it did find, and take them into the next world. that was why uno made the monument.. after all."

"and if that fails too, we can always.. send everyone to the life after, before the guardians of time erase everything."

"But that is.." She was mad. Alice couldn't say it, but that's what she felt. "Stop!" She activated her dueldisk. "I..I don't want you to do this! Just.. turn it off, please." She was not planning to fight her. Except she would have no choice if Anastasia said no. "you want to stop this? i already made my choice.. there is no other solution." Anastasia took out her own cards. "No, I.. don't believe that! I'm not going to help you either! I don't know why you wanted me to be here!" Anastasia did not need her at all for this. "i thought you would understand me, you've been through the same pain. i was doing this for you.. what do you think is going to happen, if we don't do anything?" The lady's question had an obvious answer; the same thing that happened before to Alice's world. "But.. but the Uno I know wouldn't want you to do this either! He's going to find a way, he's going to stop your brother! I know he can, so he will!" Alice held her ground. "the uno you know..." Anastasia could see there was no convincing her. "then.. this is our future. try to stop me if you want to Alice Brandt."

(To be Continued in Redux 020: The Circle is Complete)


	71. The Circle is Now Complete

**Redux 20: The Circle is Complete**

Uno could only assume June did what he asked of her, he could not recollect the last few seconds before unconsciousness. _"Did it work?"_ When he regained consciousness, he was lying on a soft bed of grass. "It did!" He was back in the garden, the garden outside the home of the sisters three. _"Wait.."_ Only it looked a little less colorful now, the flowers were all dilapidated, the leaves turned brown and the grass faint. "Focus, Uno." Ignoring what was not a good sign, he got up and walked to the house. "...It's.." The door was already open, bad vibes kept piling up. He pushed it in further and walked inside.. "!?" There he saw not the sisters of prophecy.. "Brother!?" But Marco Amadeus Nisell himself.

"You.. You knew about this place?" Uno gasped. "What? Did you Think Father only told You? Ha! We can both Reach this place, Christopher." Marco closed the book he was reading and turned to his brother. "You were hiding here? No, that's not it." Even if Marco was here mentally, his body would still need a physical resting place. "You're using this space to prepare for your time-jump. That's why you wanted to distract me, you didn't want me to come here sooner." Uno noticed the pendulum glowing in Marco's hand. "And it worked Pretty well!" Marco chuckled. "Marco. Think about what you're doing! You're going to erase everything we built, erase billions of lives!" Uno knew he could not stop Marco here with force, only words could work. "That never Stopped you before, Christopher. You have gotten Weak." The lord scoffed and walked right into Uno's face. "This is my world Now, brother. My Dream. You have no Power anymore." He gave him a simple shove and pushed him out of the house.. "No!" And out of the dream.

...

Alice's LP: 8000 Anastasia's LP: 8000

Above the horizons and underneath the stars, the Lady of Millennium began her battle with the only survivor of the world she destroyed. "you trust uno.. the new uno." Anastasia Nisell claimed the first turn. "when you first got here, i saw the bond you two shared.. i was almost envious.." She normal summoned Kozmo Goodwitch(4/1800/1000) in attack position and ended her turn.

"What? Bond? Of course.. he's friend who wants to help, and I want to help him! And that doesn't have anything to do with.." Alice shook her head. "You wont confuse me! It's my turn! I activate Machine Angel Ritual. I can sacrifice monsters to ritual summon a Cyber Angel!" The Machine Angel ritual spell tributed two cards in her hand; Exa the Enforcer of the Nekroz and Relinkuriboh. Their effects activated sequentially. The Nekroz moved a Nekroz dragon monster, Nekroz of Catastor, from the deck to Alice's hand Relinkuriboh straight up drew one card from the deck. But the main event was the ritual monster summoned by the ritual spell. "I summon Cyber Angel Idaten in defense." A purple-skinned cybernetic angel(6/1600/2000) in a black leotard, wearing a red mask/cape, appeared between Alice and Anastasia.

"those cards.. " Anastasia was given pause by the sight of this angel. "did.. you take those from the other side?" They were not among the many printed by Millennium. "No I.. I got these from three ladies.. in a strange library." Alice did not think she would be saying something so crazy sounding to anyone. But this was a crazy time. "the sisters three." And Anastasia's response was surprisingly observant. "You know them?" The girl gasped. "father told me about meeting them several times.. the keepers of lost stories and spirits from time's edge. i never could find them myself.. you have?" The lady sounded slightly jealous again. "Yeah.. That night I learned how to use the pendulum. They also gave me these cards, so that someone could give them life again.. I guess.." Alice pulled another card from her deck; a second Machine Angel Ritual. "When Idaten is summoned, she gives me a ritual spell from the deck." She then placed a trap card down and passed the turn to Anastasia.

"you are.. truly special." The lady mused. "you are not like us.. but you are strong, to still be as you are." She activated the effect of Kozmo Goodwitch, banishing her to special summon a higher leveled Kozmo monster from her hand. "kozmo delta shuttle." A three-winged space jet(5/2000/2000) took off from the platform, circling around the tower. "it sends one kozmo card away from my deck, to weaken yours by a hundred for each level on that dismissed card." The Shuttle discarded Kozmo Dark Destroyer, a level 8 monster. 800 attackpoints flew away from Cyber Angel Idaten(800/2000). Then came the attack itself. "Uh.. I will use this!" Alice flipped her trap. "Unbreakable Spirit. Because I only control one monster, he will gain the attackpoints of your monster for one turn!" Cyber Angel Idaten(2800/2000) powered up and assumed a fighting stance. Delta Shuttle's attack backfired and the machine was kicked out of the skies as soon as it got near Idaten.

Anastasia's LP: 7200

"i took the first hit. as always.." Anastasia activated the effect of the destroyed Kozmo Delta Shuttle. It banished itself to special summon a low-level Kozmo monster from her deck. She chose the flying monkey brigade in black armor, Kozmo Soartroopers(3/1000/1000). "Kozmo Soartroopers can, by paying a thousand of my lifepoints, revive one Kozmo." Anastasia paid the sum just like that, and let the Soaring troopers special summon the Kozmo Dark Destroyer(8/3000/1800). "with this machine summoned, one monster on the field will be destroyed." The Destroyer targeted Cyber Angel Idaten. "Ah! But a Machine Angel Ritual in my grave can save a ritual monster from those kinds of effects!" Alice banished the machine ritual spell, which negated the destruction of Idaten. "it was worth trying." Anastasia activated her own spell, Foolish Burial with Belongings. With that card she could send one trap card, Kozmourning, from her deck to the graveyard. "you must always try, you understand.." After all that, she let her turn come to a close.

Anastasia's LP: 6200

"I.. ." Alice had no answer to that. There was just something odd about the way Anastasia was dueling, like she didn't care what she was doing. "It's my turn.. I activate Moray of Greed." Alice's spell shuffled two water monsters from her hand (Nekroz of Catastor, Nekroz of Decisive Armor) into the deck to draw three cards. "And I will summon Manju of the Thousand Hands." The gods idol(4/1400/1000) of many hands landed on the platform, to bring the user new ritual cards. Alice used Manju's effect to get the second Cyber Angel; Benten. However Benten was not next in line. "Fairy's Blessing! I can ritual summon any light-monster with this spell. Like Sauravis!" The Fairy spell tributed a Djinn Releaser of Rituals from Alice's hand, along with the Manju of Ten Thousand Hands. Seven stars pooled together to form the ancient crowned dragon Sauravis(7/2600/2800). "...I may not know you very well, miss Anastasia. Maybe I should have. But I saw you duel Uno, at least. I know how you like to play." With the Djinn Releaser integrated into this ritual summon, Anastasia could not special summon at all while Sauravis was alive.

"And.. now I sacrifice Idaten, for Cyber Angel Benten." The second Machine Angel Ritual began. One angel gave her six stars to summon another; to the fan dancer(6/1800/1500) with long black hair. "When Idaten is used a sacrifice, she will give 1000 attackpoints to all my ritual monsters." Both Sauravis(3600/2800) and Idaten(2800/1500) bathed in the light of Idatens spiritual blessing. "So I .. I am going to attack you now!" Benten the cyber angel loomed over the dark troops. "you still can not bring yourself to hate me.. there is no need for pity, alice brandt. i have already lived longer than i should have." When Benten sliced the Soartroopers up and down with her fan, Anastasia countered the normal damage by banishing Kozmourning from her graveyard. The trap's second effect allowed her to gain lifepoints instead of losing them to battle damage. Nevertheless, Benten still inflicted effect damage equal to the defense points of the destroyed monster.

Anastasia's LP: 8000

"But I don't hate you. I just.. don't like what you're doing." Alice ordered her second attack, Sauravis the Ancient dragon coiled around the Dark kozmo spaceship like a constrictor snake to grind it into a heap of scrapmetal. "Do you want to be hated?" Alice asked before she ended her turn. "..i believe i drew myself to cards like these.. which gain strength from pain and loss.. because i saw it as something i deserved. but i see more reasons. as do you. we are both keepers of stories.. your name is not yours, it is the way it is because of the books you red when you were younger. it is the same for me. this deck was made for my favorite story..

Anastasia's LP: 6200

"i summon her, kozmo farmgirl." And she normal summoned the sci-fi farmers daughter(3/1500/1000) with the red braids. "i give her the equip spells kozmo lightsword and psycho sword." The farm girl ditched her blaster gun for two new weapons, one was a sword of light that added 500 attack and defense points to the Kozmo psychic(2000/1500). It would also grant her with piercing and dual-attack effects. The second equip spell was a blade carved from pure psychic force. The attackboost of this spell depended on the amount of lifepoints the user was willing to give up. "i pay 2000." Anastasia sacrificed as much as the spell allowed to make the Farmgirl(4000/1500) the strongest monster on the field. "she will attack sauravis." Kozmo Farmgirl raced towards the dragon sage, and made a vertical swing with her psychic sword. "I'm sorry, I know you want to special summon again. But I cant let you." Alice banished the second Machine Angel Ritual spell, which negated the destruction of the Ascended one. Though it did not negate the battle damage.

Anastasia's LP: 4200 Alice's LP: 7600

"do you remember what happens when.. farmgirl inflicts damage." Anastasia payed another 500 lifepoints. "she can take one kozmo card from my deck." Farmgirl's effect delivered her the Kozmoll Dark Lady psychic monster. "and a kozmo equipped with the lightsword, can attack two monsters in one turn." The Farmgirl jumped back up and made a cutting pass at Sauravis with her other sword. "I still have Relinkuriboh!" Alice quickly banished the cybernetic kuriboh from her graveyard, which also prevented the death of her monster as a result of battles. Sauravis pushed the Farmgirl back, while Alice's life suffered another minor loss. "i will use her again." Anastasia exchanged another 500 lifepoints to reactivate Farmgirl's effect and add a Kozmotown field spell from her deck to her hand.

Anastasia's LP: 3200 Alice's LP: 7200

Anastasia placed Kozmotown on her field. Its effect added Kozmo Delta Shuttle from the banished zone to Anastasia's hand. Though she took 500 points of damage; 100 for each level on the monster. "Can you really.. use up so much life?" Even a Kozmo deck could not keep paying life every time, not when she was barely hurting Alice in return. "i am afraid, losing is as difficult as dying.. for me. the only ones who ever could break through that curse were my brothers and my father.. that is why, you do not need to feel sad." Anastasia activated the second effect of Kozmotown to shuffle Kozmo Delta Shuttle back into the deck and draw a new card as a result. The new card was set down in the spell/trap zone. "do not hold anything back, that is how your soul wants it, that is how all the spirits want it.. only we can dictate how the story goes.."

Anastasia's LP: 2700

"I wasn't going to..." Alice immediately activated her next spell. "With Preparation of the Rites I take back one of my ritual spells, and I can add a ritual monster to my hand.. if her level is less then 8." Alice took Fairy's Blessing from the graveyard along with a second Cyber Angel Benten from the deck. "I will sacrifice Benten for Idaten!" The roles were reversed, the wisdom goddess sacrificed herself for the goddess guardian(6/1600/2000). "When Benten is tributed, I get a fairy with a light element. And since Idaten was ritual summoned again, I get a new ritual spell too." Alice added Machine Angel Ritual and a Cyber Petit Angel to her hand. "Cyber Petit Angel searches for Cyber angels or their spells. And I am going to take Cyber Angel Dakini!" She normal summoned a round and metallic pink angel(2/300/200). Cyber Petit Angel reached into Alice's deck to find the requested card. "Machine Angel Ritual will summon her!" Cyber Petit Angel and Cyber Angel Idaten were the tributes. Their eight stars breathed life into the four-armed warrior goddess; Cyber Angel Dakini(8/2700/2400). Not only would Dakini's effects take the life of Kozmo Farmgirl, the tributed Idaten would add another 1000 attackpoints to all ritual monsters on the field. They would have... "Shape.. of the soul?" if they were up against someone 'normal'.

 _Shape of the Soul, Normal Trap  
_ _You can only activate 1 "Shape of the Soul" per turn. Activate only if your opponent's Life Points are higher than yours.  
_ _Negate all effects that would prevent a special summon and special summon 1 monster from your hand, whose combined ATK and DEF is lower than the difference between your Life Points and your opponent's._

"But.." The trap special summoned Kozmo Dark Lady(5/2200/1800) from Anastasia's hand, breaking through the Djinn Releaser's lock. "the dark lady will negate one effect, if i lose 1000 more lifepoints." Anastasia activated the Dark Lady's effect to negate the effect of the tributed Idaten. "and dakini gives _me_ the choice of which monster to send to the grave. i choose the dark lady." The witch in black armor lost her head to Dakini's swords, instead of the Farmgirl. "i am sorry too, alice. the soul.. my soul.. births new spells and traps, whenever it foresees death. i cannot lose.. "

Anastasia's LP: 1700

As she spoke the beams at the top of the tower grew wider. "No." Alice could only guess that it would soon be too late to stop Anastasia's plan. "My turn.. is over." During her endphase Fairy's Blessing returned to her hand thanks to Dakini's second effect. She'd have to defend one more turn, which was difficult when the opponents attacks could pierce right through defense. "attack." No seconds were wasted, Anastasia sent Farmgirl after Sauravis. "!" The first hit only damaged it slightly, since Alice could banish the last Machine angel ritual card to save the ritual dragon. But the second attack from the Kozmo Lightsword wielder finished the job. Sauravis the ascended one died and the Djinn's special summon block vanished from the field. "kozmo dark planet, kozmo forerunner." And all the while, Anastasia made use of Kozmo Farmgirl's effects. She paid 500 lifepoints twice to take two Kozmo monsters from her deck. "alice brandt, the time has come. i banish at least ten levels worth of kozmo monsters.. to special summon kozmo dark planet."

Alice's LP: 6400 Anastasia's LP: 700

"Huh?!" This went beyond what even Alice was used too in all the insane battles she'd fought. During her second main phase, Anastasia banished Kozmo Forerunner and a Kozmoll Wicked Witch card. Eleven level stars burned up to generate a portal large enough to cover every horizon. The gatewayippled, 'something' ruptured the surface. "What is.. is that a card too?" It was as if a second moon emerged before her eyes, brought here by Anastasia. It was in fact a planetoid-sized spacebase(10/4000/4000); a round green sphere surrounded by three stabilizing rings. "Whoa.." Alice could feel the pressure, just like all the other monsters.. this was not a hologram. She imagined that the people in the city below could see it too, through the clouds. "i gave its name; kozmo dark planet.." Anastasia actually began to hover after she summoned her machine, she was caught by the planet's own gravity. "no effect can target it, it is too far away. and each turn it may negate one spell of my choosing. you know what this means." The lady looked down at the girl, while she floated closer to the Dark Planet.

"That I.. cannot use ritual cards anymore?" The stunned girl replied as her turn came. "And.." Dakini alone couldn't fight back against both of Kozmo monsters. It would all come down to whatever card she could draw from her deck. And there was nothing that could change that. "It's my turn!" So she drew the card. "Oh.." It wasn't anything that could turn the tide. At least her lifepoints were still decently high. "I set a card in the spell/trap zone, and end my turn." Alice could only hope that Anastasia would not summon anything else on the next turn. "...i call the kozmo scaredy lion." Unfortunately, she did. The red-maned lion(3/1200/500) from the original tale, now dressed in black cybernetic armor, joined Kozmo Farmgirl on the battleground platform.

"!" And when Alice saw the card, she tried her best to hide her reaction. _"Scaredy Lion can return three banished monsters to the graveyard, to inflict effect damage. But if she does that.. then I can use my trap!"_ Alice's set card was Ghost of a Grude. It reduced monsters attackpoints to zero, but only when the opponents eight or more cards in their graveyard. Anastasia was not one of those opponents right now. But she could be, if she used the Lions ability. "attack the cyber angel.." Alas, Anastasia was not doing that. "No!?" The Kozmo Farmgirl entered the battlephase and drew Dakini into a furious battle of swords and sabers. The goddess lost to the psychic. "and.. attack alice.." The Scaredy Lion made the second attack, delivering a weak but solid jab with its paw. "Egh.." If that was bad enough, there was no preparing for what the Dark Planet would be like. "alice.. hurting you is not my desire. but if this attack is something you cannot survive, give up now. nothing good comes from needless pain.."

Alice's LP: 3900

"No!" Alice yelled. "If you don't want people to feel bad for you. Then you don't get to feel bad for me either!" This was not the first time someone offered her an easy way out of a duel. So many treated her like a fragile girl. "You want to be nice to me, because you did something bad once. That's why you saved Adamant, even though you're doing this now!" Perhaps Anastasia she was, in her own way. "You'l have to do hurt me first, before you can hurt anyone else!" It was possible, to bluff her way out. But that wasn't the reason Alice carried with her in her mind. "Just.. don't use the Monument. You don't really want too.. you can't." She was simply trying to help Anastasia. "what i want... is not the same as what i want. between this and another world without family, i know what i would choose. and uno.. would do the same. he is the same." Anastasia raised her hand. "dark planet, direct attack." The rings around the planet aligned, while energy built up inside the core of the machine. "..Uno.. everyone. I.." Kozmo Dark Planet fired. Alice could not look at it, she was not strong enough for that. She waited as the light reached and enveloped her.

Alice's LP: 0

"!? Eh?" Though the attack hit, the energy avoided her. The physical force of the attack was parted by a figure above. The light made it difficult to identify as anything more than a winged humanoid that disappeared immediately with the blast. "You two?" Soon Alice saw others standing next to her, June.. and a young blonde-haired kid in a grey coat. "another.." Anastasia trembled. "Yup! Call me January! And you must be Uno's sister! Nice to finally meet you!"

(To be Continued in Redux 019: Life, but a Dream)

 **New Cards used by Alice Brandt  
** Cyber Angel Idaten  
Cyber Petit Angel

-  
Machine Angel Ritual

 **New Cards used by Anastasia Nisell  
** Kozmo Delta Shuttle  
Kozmo Soartroopers  
Kozmo Dark Lady  
Kozmo Dark Planet  
Kozmo Scaredy Lion

-  
Foolish Burial with Belongings  
Kozmo Lightsword  
Psycho Sword

-  
Kozmourning  
 _Shape of the Soul_


	72. Life but a Dream

**Redux 19: Life is but a Dream**

"Marco!?" Uno rose from the cold floor of the gate room. "Why..." The dream was over, big brother kicked him back to the real world. Everything Uno set out to do seemed to be impossible; layed to waste. But there was one planted seed that did grow.. "So.. you are awake."

A tall man with black hair and piercing eyes stood before him. "De..cember?" It was the one who led the 'calendar' duelists, the oldest pendulum wielder. "You made it? You got the portal to open?" Uno realized the room was brighter than before, thanks to the glowing energy inside the gate. "It wasn't us. The fusion guild opened it from their side. Not out of kindness, but because our new friends forced them too." Iria explained, stressing that additional point. "December? You forced them? So you found the guild? Did you see were they were in the future or something? And where's January?" A lot happened during his sleep apparently. Zach and Iria were still around, but June could not be seen. "I knew where January and I needed to be, and how to take control of their location. And I know what needs to be done now. I will concern myself with your 'brother'. You have another task.." He pointed a finger at Uno and his pendulum crystal. "Which is?" Uno blinked. "While the portal is still open, return those that do not belong here to their own timeline. Your family has done enough damage to timespace. This can be the first step towards recovery. Afterwards, we will resolve our own dispute.. son of Tempus."

"Okay.. okay I can do that." Uno sighed. "As long as it wont cause more pain, I'll do what you say."

...

"N-neter? You're.. Uno's plan worked?"

"Ssh-shh! Its January.. January yeah." The kid shushed Alice. "That ship has sailed, Neter." June shook her head. "As for Uno. He was indisposed at the time. Indisposed as in 'sleeping'. Because he asked me too. It made sense to him." The psychic shrugged. "But if you're here... is December is here too?" The 'calendar gang' being all back together, could be the best news Alice heard in days. "Of course! Dec sent us to help here while he's gonna go find the other Tempus! Marco something Nisell, right?"

"... and have you? can you find him? you never found us in the before." Their words of hope did not quite reach the sister of the Nisells. "It is much harder to predict the path of someone who controls a pendulum; your brother is constantly changing his own future, and of those around him. But December will find him. What we missed before was a sense of your identity, your past. Now that we know who you are, it is only a matter of time." June said with confidence. "... i hear no certainties, your promise is not enough." Anastasia reshuffled her deck. "No. No wait! You don't have to do any of this anymore!" Alice pleaded. "we do. they do, if they want to take my pendulum. i can't give it to them, it has to be won. and i can not stop.. i will not."

Anastasia's LP: 8000

"Is she right? Do you have to take her pendulum?" Alice questioned the travelers. "I am affraid so. Her mind is more unstable than I first thought. Without the pendulum she can do less harm to us and to herself. I know you tried, Alice. But the lady knew this was going to happen, she wanted you to duel her. The inevitability of a confrontation is all she can think of." June stared up towards the sky beyond the clouds. "There are too many satellites and too many control towers. Even if we destroy this one, she can still turn 97 % of the world population into cards. The only thing that can shut it down is that golden card in her hand." The telepath deduced, and her partner stepped forward. "Well if December and August are gonna take care of Tempus number two! We'll take care of her!" January took out his dueldisk and deck. "You do that. I'll stand by." If December came calling about Marco, June wanted to be available. And January would fare better against a duelist like Anastasia. "..." All the while Alice was asking herself whether she could truly side with January and June. Anastasia had to be stopped, but what would that mean for her future?

January's LP: 8000

"Yay! I finally get to duel a Tempus!" Neter drew five cards. "that is your right. but like alice before you, you will not find victor." Anastasia let him have the first turn. "Cool! I summon Satellarknight Vega! So I can also summon Satellarknight Rigel!" When he normal summoned the white armored golden-horned maiden(4/1200/1600) from the Lyra constellation, her effect was activated to special summon a Satellarknight from January's hand. The starknight with the silver dagger and white cape, Rigel(4/1900/700), was chosen. "XYZ-Time! XYZ-summon go!" Neter clapped his hands as he overlayed Vega with Rigel. The Satellarknights threw themselves into a cosmic whirlpool. "Tellarknight Ptolemaeus!" Together they created a white and gold knight centaur(4/550/2600), with wings that contained all the colors of the galactic nebulae. "I set it in defense mode of course. And every time a turn ends, I get to place one Tellarknight from my extra deck under my XYZ-monster!" After Neter placed two traps face-down and moved to his endphase, a Stellarknight Delteros was attached. Now three bright XYZ-materials circled around Ptolemaeus like miniature stars. "Your turn, lady Tempus!"

"you too are one who lost their world. yet you appear so filled with joy." A mildly mystified Anastasia started her turn. "Well, I could be sad about what I lost. But how would that help? I'd rather be happy about what I gained!" The kid laughed. "a strange choice." The lady shook her head. "but if that is how your soul endures, then your strength is a unique type." She activated a spell card; Card of the Soul. "i shall take one monster, whose joined attack and defense points are the same as my lifepoints." With 8000 lifepoints there was one monster she could claim; a machine with 4000 attack and defense points. "i choose.. kozmo dark planet." To summon it she banished two Kozmos from her hand; Dark Destroyer and Strawman, as their combined level stars added up to ten. "appear.." Once more the sky-filling juggernaut machine(10/4000/4000) dominated the stratosphere. Anastasia floated upwards, drawn to the Planets front ring by its gravity.

"Ooooh. Look June! It's so big! Almost as big as the Dyson Sphere!" January made an impressed noise. "Yes, I can see that." June grinned. "Ah. You have to be careful. It can stop spells!" Alice warned January, almost impulsively. "it has done more already." Anastasia continued, activating the field spell Kozmotown to add the illusory emerald space-city on the horizon. "i will take back one kozmo." Kozmotown unbanished Strawman for her, costing her 200 of her lifepoints. And Anastasia normal summoned the monster, a lanky robotic mannequin(2/500/1800), in the shadow of the planet. "the strawman will summon one kozmo that was banished, for 500 lifepoints. but its effects are negated and it will be destroyed at the end of the turn.." The man of straw placed its hand on the floor and pulled a card from the other dimension; the starship Kozmo Dark Destroyer(8/3000/3000). "the dark destroyer attacks the defending tellarknight."

Anastasia's LP: 7300

"Nuh-uh!" January responded with a flick of his finger and a flip of his trap. "Can't say 'attack' if I use Threatening Roar!" The roaring trap silenced Anastasia's attack commands. Keeping Ptolemaeus safe from the Kozmo cards. "i see.." Anastasia ended her battle phase and placed two trap cards down. "then, my turn has no further use." The endphase saw the destruction of Kozmo Dark Destroyer via Strawmans effect. However Kozmo Dark Destroyer's effects were only negated while it was on the field. With it destroyed, it could banish itself to special summon a new Kozmo monster from the deck. Anastasia special summoned Kozmo Landwalker the four-legged tank(6/2400/1200) in attack mode. "Don't feel too bad! Your little brother fell for it too!"

"uno?.. you dueled him?" Alice winced slightly. "Oh yeah I did! He got pretty mad then, because he thought I was the one who took his memories. But I'm not that mean!" The kid beamed. His Tellarknight attached another XYZ-monster from the extra deck, Stellarknight Triverr, to itself as an XYZ-material during the same endphase. "uno.. got mad?" That was a surprising bit of news for his sister. "what.. was he like?" It raised several questions, questions she threw down at Alice. "You're asking me? I... I wasn't there. But.. I heard he was really angry at Neter and mister Dom too." That was what Emily told her, and she was not in the habit of exaggerating. "Is that perhaps.. more like the person you used to know?" June turned the interrogation back towards the sister Nisell. "i.. perhaps.. but he never flew into a rage in front of me.."

"Hey Less talking, more fighting!" January drew his next card. "I... Hmm? If I wanna use this I.. awww.. I'm gonna have to wait. Meh!" January snapped his fingers. "Ah well. I can still do this first! See, Ptolemaeus has three XYZ-materials. When she has that many, she can use everything to XYZ-summon a new XYZ-guy, with a rank of five!" January took a black card from the extra deck and slammed it down hard on top of the Tellarknight. "Instant XYZ-summon! Satellarknight Constellar Diamond!" The centaur and her system of four XYZ-materials transformed. Ptolemaeus evolved into Diamond the white dragon(5/2700/2000) of the stars. "Now each time a monster with a dark element tries to use their power! I can block it with one of Diamond's materials! So.." Neter normal summoned the Satellarknight Unukalhai, the dark serpent-armor knight(4/1800/1000). Unukalhai's effect moved one Satellarknight from the deck to the graveyard. "Bye Bye Altair!" January chose that one and quickly activated a spell too at the cost of 2000 lifepoints. "Gogogo! I use the Ties of the Brethren on Unukalhai!"

January's LP: 6000

"I bring out two more guys who have Unukalhai's level, element and type; four, light and warrior!" In this case, Ties of the Brethren special summoned two more Satellarknights: Deneb the winged dancer(4/1500/1000) and Alsahm the star archer(4/1400/1800). "When I summon Satellarknight Deneb, I get another tellarknight for free! And Alsahm can shoot your lifepoints!" The kid picked Satellarknight Sirius from his deck, while Alsahm inflicted 1000 points of damage to Anastasia with an arrow that soared all the way up to where the Lady stood. "..." She took the hit in silence, smiling in her usual feint manner. "You liked that? You're a bit weird, lady Tempus!" Duelists could not special summon after Ties of the Brethren was used, nor could they attack during the same turn. Therefor January was okay with letting his turn end. "it is nothing i do not deserve." Anastasia claimed with a heavy sigh. Yet when she looked upon her next card, she breathed in again.

Anastasia's LP: 6300

"i shall revive the destroyer once more." She paid 500 lifepoints for the effect of Kozmo Strawman, and summoned Kozmo Dark Destroyer in attack position. "kozmoll dark lady." The Strawman used its other ability too. It was banished and the dark wicked witch(5/2200/1800) in her hand was special summoned in attack mode. "my four shall attack your four." The machines started the battle phase. "Is that what you want?" January spun his trap around with a big grin. "How about now? I activate Wonder XYZ, so I can XYZ-summon during your turn!" He stacked the Knights Alsahm, Deneb and Unukalhai on top of each other. "And I XYZ-summon Stellarknight Triverr!" The trio together, although not related by name, formed the stellar winter triangle and brought the winter knight Triverr(4/2100/2500) from the extra deck. "Now all your monsters are gonna go back to your deck!" Triverrs effect hit all cards at once, circumventing Kozmo Dark Planet's targeting immunity. "i do not see it, january." So Anastasia chained with another monster's effect by paying 1000 lifepoints. "the dark lady negates your monsters power, for another thousand of life." The kozmoll witch prepared a curse of dark magic in her one hand.

Anastasia's LP: 4800

"Heyhey? Did ya forget about the Constellarknight?" Naturally, the XYZ-duelist countered with his XYZ-monsters effect. Stellarknight Diamond detached one XYZ-material and fired a comet of holy light towards Kozmoll Dark Lady. "i rarely forget." Anastasia activated her face-down trap card. "every mistake i made, even corrected, will be burned into my memory. i activate the chains of the soul." a thread of spiritual energy shot out of her card, and it passed through both Constellarknight Diamond, Kozmoll Dark Lady and Stellarknight Triverr. "Ha?" Their effects were all negated. "Hmmmph!. That's cheating! You were using cool cards before, but now you're just making up stuff!" January protested. "The power to create new monsters, Uno also demonstrated such talents. Didn't he, January?" June conferred with her grumpy partner. "Yeah but he made awesome looking skeleton dragons! She's just making spells and traps now! You can do so much cooler!" He insisted. "uno.. was always better at it.. then us.. we are all special in different ways. the chains of the soul stop all effects in a single chain. we have gone back to the beginning. and.. from there i will strike." Anastasia's attacks resumed. Kozmo Dark Planet unleashed a massive death-beam into the chest of the Diamond Stellarknight.

January's LP: 4700

 _Chains of the Soul, Counter Trap  
_ _Activate only if your lifepoints are lower than your opponents.  
_ _Activate as chain 3 or higher. Negate the activation and effects of all other monster cards in the same Chain._

"but these kozmo cards with which i attack, were only made my human hands, for my sake, for my.. enjoyment." Now the Dark Destroyer targeted the defending Stellarknight Triverr, and destroyed it with a barrage of missiles and lasers. "I enjoy duels too! By the way, when Triverr dies. I can summon one Tellarknight from the graveyard!" Triverrs triangle shield stuck around for a bit, glowing brightly to return the angelic Satellarknight Altair(4/1700/1300) to life. "Altair can resummon one Satellarknight too!" The angel knight special summoned Satellarknight Vega in defense mode. Subsequently, Vega's effect would special summon one Tellarknight from January's hand. "Let's get, Sirius!" The white and gold knight(4/1600/900) with the wolven helm jumped out unto the tower platform. "Now I get another card! So there!" Five fallen Tellarknights (Rigel, Deneb, Alsahm, Triverr, Delteros) were shuffled into the deck by Sirius, after which January could draw one card. "so.. here." All these new monsters were summoned in defense mode, naturally. "attack." January lost no lifepoints when Kozmoll Dark Lady and Kozmo Landwalker killed Sirius and Vega with their red lightswords and cannon fire.

"..." Anastasia moved to main phase 2. "kozmotown, give me strawman." Her field spell reactivated, giving her the level 2 Kozmo monster and taking another 200 lifepoints away. Kozmotown then shuffled that card back into her deck, so she could draw one new card. Last and least, Strawmans effect on Dark Destroyer ran out during the endphase and the starship selfdestructed. "kozmo dog fighter." This time Dark Destroyer banished itself to special summon a shuttle cone(6/2000/2400) from Anastasia's deck. Kozmo DOG Fighter took off from the platform, circling around the tower.

Anastasia's LP: 4600

"Alice!" Between turns, more spectators barged unto the tower platform. "Whoa!" Stonewell immediately regretted coming up here when he saw the giant sphere up close. "You're here too now?!" Eric meanwhile recognized January immediately. "Heya!" The kid waved back giddily. "Alice, are you injured? We could see this battle from down below. Why did this happen?" Adamant demanded an explanation. "The lady of the castle has her own idea on how to solve our problems. We disagreed." June gave a succinct recount. "She's gonna put everyone inside the monument!" Alice added loudly. "What? Is she insane?" Stonewell cursed. ".i would not expect you to understand." Alice offered no excuses.

"Well, lady, maybe you're a little crazy. But you have one good point! If you can use your super-duper ultra-special cards, I can too! Right, June?" The kid looked at the psychic with big bright eyes. "Sure. At this point we can't be picky about hiding our true nature." June shrugged again. "Super ultra cards?" Alice wondered what those could even be. "Yup! You know, I guess you must be really sad that your lost your world too, Alisonny Alice!" January said out of nowhere, as he normal summoned the wheel-riding Satellarknight Capella(4/1100/2000) to the field. "What? Why would you.." She could only stammer in response. "What if I told you guys that you don't have to be sad?! I lost a lot too. My world was really really reeeeally special. We had everything perfect until Tempus put it away. But he couldn't take everything... I kept one thing.. my hope. If you want to say I have a specialty, then it is the power to always turn a bad thing into a good thing! To know that everyone will have a happy ending!" January placed Capella on top of Satellarknight Altair. "Go, King of Hope. Number 39: Utopia!" The two knights overlayed into an helmeted swordsman(4/2500/2000) in armor of gold and white.

"the...numbers.." Anastasia staggered slightly, as that ancient term was uttered. "Number?" Stonewell did not have any idea what made this XYZ-monster so unusual. Except, just standing near it filled her with a comforting warmth. "These are monsters humanity developed in January's timeline. There they encountered the Numbers, beings from another dimension who connected with humans to exchange strength and emotion. There were once billions of Numbers, based on a template of a Hundred. Now few remain, and January is the only one left who can summon them." June edified. "you are from that world, you are so young.." Anastasia knew these cards well. They were just another victim of their flight through time. "Oh yeah, I guess for you I am! I don't usually meet people older than me. But but but! I am pretty strong too! Let me show you something neat!" The kid placed another card on top of the Utopia warrior. "Shining XYZ Evolution! I can use Number 39 as an XYZ-material for Number S39 Utopia Prime!"

"Rank up? Without a spell?" Adamant saw it with his own eyes, the originator of his own XYZ-evolotion tactics. January used Utopia and its XYZ materials as the base for a new XYZ-summon. Utopia Prime the Shining Number knight(4/2510/2000) exchanged Utopia's solid wings for loosely floating blades. And its armor got lighter, with less shoulderpads and . "Oh I can do it more than once!" January took another black card from his extra deck. "Shining Force Evolution! Any Rank 4 Utopia monster can be ranked up into Number S39: Utopia the Lightning!" Utopia Prime transformed as well, merging its wingblades into two massive swords that attached to his shoulders. Spikes of gold were added to the armor and helmet, like a crown of the sun. This warrior(5/2500/2000) was the next rank for the shining hope number. "Bye bye, Kozmo Dark Planet!" January waved his hand at the skies. "?" Utopia the Lightning drew both of its swords from it back and flew towards the Kozmo planet. "If The Lightning has a Utopia monster attached, he can bring his attackpoints up all the way to 5000!" The Shining Number detached both Satellarknight XYZ-materials and doubled its(5000/2000) own attackpoints. "Ah!" Both blades plunged into the core of the machine. "my... planet.. my world." Anastasia was engulfed by a chain reaction of explosions.

Anastasia's LP: 3600

(To be Continued in Redux 018: Abandon All Hope)

 **New Cards used by Anastasia Nisell  
** Kozmo Strawman  
Kozmo Dogfighter

-  
Card of the Soul

 _-  
Chains of the Soul_

 **New Cards used by January/Neter  
** Tellarknight Ptolemaeus  
Number 39: Utopia  
Number S39: Utopia Prime  
Number S39: Utopia the Lightning

-  
Ties of the Brethren


	73. Abandon all Hope

**Redux 19: Abandon all Hope**

To go home again; it sounded nice. But the way it was requested and the timing of it, introduced some resistance. "Are you sure we have to leave? Can't we stay just a little longer?" Dom hardly got to savor the delights of this far more advanced world. "No can do. December wants everyone back in their original dimension. Zach and Iria are already waiting for you there." Uno understood their reluctance, but he would have to take him there regardless. August was watching his every move. "If it is the fusion guild you fear, do not bother. The tower in the other timeline was cleared out by December and January. You will not find any enemies there." The traveler said with an impatient scowl. "So this is it then?" Tory meanwhile would have to stay. She did not even get the chance to say goodbye to half of these people and it was a coincidence at all that she was here in the palace hall when Uno came to fetch Dom. "Well.. It was at least nice to meet you I guess. I wont forget what you've done for me." She extended a hand to Uno. "The feeling is mutual. Where is Stonewell anyway. I want to give him the same.."

Their hands separated soon and not willingly. "What the?" Several loud explosions echoed throughout the floors of the palace. "What caused that?" Uno raced to the window to look up to where the sound came from. "Dont ask us, the sky's been loopy all day." All he, Dom and the others could see were the storm clouds above and odd red lightning. "Is this an effect of the timewarp?" Tory panicked. "No. This is an ongoing duel, between January and your sister." August bluntly revealed. "What!?" Uno gasped out loud. "I have to get up there!" He reached for his pendulum, only for August to stop him by grabbing his hand. "No. You need to finish your tasks, concern yourself with what you can." He glared at the master and his disciples. "But why.. why are you dueling Ana?" Uno pulled himself free. "Because she resisted us. Involving us was your idea, Fortuno Nisell. You wanted to surrender your family to us in order to save what remains of this world. I guess _she_ decided to disagree."

...

"Shining XYZ evolution?" Eric, Stonewell, Adamant and Alice were above the clouds and felt like it too. They witnessed the 39th Number's shining evolution. A fully charged Utopia the Lightning(4/5000/2000) came after Anastasia's ultimate Kozmo Dark Planet(10/4000/4000). "i can. i can not." Under normal circumstances, the Lady would have activated Kozmo Landwalker(6/2400/1200)'s effect to trade the destruction of one Kozmo for another. If not that, she could have outright negated January's monster effect with Kozmoll Dark Lady(5/2200/1800), for a measly 1000 lifepoints. However.. Utopia the Lightning surpassed all; the Number's effect prevented the activation of other effects and cards during its battle step. "my world." Observation was the only choice left for Anastasia. She observed how the Planet that once dominated the sky blew up, piece by piece. "Yay! I took the big one down!"

Anastasia's LP: 3600 January's LP: 4700

"This is the power.. from the world that created XYZ-monsters?" Adamant was nearly left speechless. This kid was the only duelist who could have summoned such a monster. "Yes. January is the last of his world who can tell the story of the Numbers. I suppose your guild owes a lot to that." June said with a melancholic smile. "Well whatever it is, I am glad its winning. I should have known you were up to no good either." Stonewell provoked the lady Nisell while January placed a trap card down and ended his turn. "Yeah.. uh.. don't know why this is happening, but maybe its time to throw in the towel?" Eric didn't think Anastasia could top this Shining Number. "the past... no." Anastasia shook her head and entered her drawphase. "you cannot take me yet, you cannot take from me." As Anastasia's turn started, her Kozmo DOG fighter(6/2000/2400) summoned a DOGfighter token(6/2000/2400) to her field in attack position. "dark destroyer." And Kozmotown's effect freed Kozmo Dark Destroyer from the banished zone, putting it back in the lady's hand. As that card had eight levels, the field spell took away 800 lifepoints.

Anastasia's LP: 2800

"Oh? We're still dueling? If that's what makes you happy, I can go another couple of rounds, yea-heh!" January laughed out loud and activated a trap card. "Balance of Judgment! Gonna have to use some math, but nothing too hard!" The kid moved his finger across the field, counting the cards; from Kozmo Landwalker, Dark Lady, DOG Fighter, the token, the field spell and her face-down trap card. "You have six cards on your field. But I only have one on my field and nothing in my hand! Balance of Judgment will fix that!" The trap allowed January to draw a number of cards equal to the difference; five total. "That many cards at once?" Eric stuttered. "He tends to surprise people like that." June nodded. "the draw of hope.." Anastasia repeated January's earlier words. "there will be no hope, if it ends now." She activated her own trap card: Multiple Destruction. "Whoa?!" January's cards were dragged down to the bottom of his deck, one by one. "multiple destruction destroys our hands if they hold three or more cards." Anastasia emptied her hand too. "and i lose 300 lifepoints for each card." The total came down to eight 'destroyed' cards; 2400 lifepoints. "And now, we will each draw five new cards." Anastasia refilled her hand, and so did her opponent. "Huh? You just wanted me too get my hopes up? Hehhh, that's pretty mean!"

Anastasia's LP: 400

"...kozmo tincan." Anastasia normal summoned one of her new cards, the tin robot on wheels. "dark eclipser and dark destroyer." Tin Cans effect activated, along with the effect of Kozmoll Dark Lady. The two banished themselves from the field to summon higher leveled Kozmo machines from her hand. One of them was Kozmo Dark Destroyer(8/3000/1800). "Wow! You drew another one of those? You're pretty lucky!" The other was the commanding vessel of the kozmo space fleet, the black and twisted Eclipser(9/3000/2600). "i will.. destroy your hope. i have to." Dark Destroyer's effect targeted Utopia the Lightning for destruction, and there was not much January could do about it without traps. "It's gonna take a little more to smash my hope!" But January discarded an Effect Veiler from his hand to target Kozmo Dark Destroyer and negate its effect. "... then i will find another way to end it" The lady activated a spell card. "temple of the soul." Her spell allowed her the activation of a Soul-card, even if it was a trap card.

 _Temple of the Soul, Quickplay Spell_  
 _Activate 1 "of the soul" card from your hand._

"point of the soul." She activated a continuous trap from her hand. "Ah! It's that one! Now she can't lose lifepoints that are higher then what she has right now!" Alice yelled out to prepare January. "if he did not know already. then it is too late now." Anastasia slowly directed her finger towards the shining number. "your xyz-monster can only use its effect one more time." Utopia the Lightning needed two xyz-materials for its attackboosting power, and two xyz-materials was exactly as much as it had left. "dark destroyer, attack utopia." So Dark Destroyer would make the Shining Number use up its power on the first attack. While Dark Eclipser could destroy it with the second attack. "Ooh! Good idea! Too bad I got one of these!" As the Kozmo spaceship approached, January activated a monster effect from his hand. "Honest!" The discarding of the virtuous angel raised the attackpower of a light-monster, adding Kozmo Dark Destroyer's attackpoints to Utopia(5500/2000). The warrior did not need its own ability to counterattack now and it destroyed the Kozmo Dark Destroyer. "..." Anastasia's plan broke down again.

"He drew cards of that kind, with Balance of Judgement?" Adamant was stunned. This could not simply be the result of luck. "Yep! That's the power of hope! I can always come back to a happy place! You can have it too, lady. You can make whatever you want!" January's turn came and he made Utopia the Lightning attack the DOG Fighter. Another ship from the Kozmo fleet got cut down from the skies. "I just don't get it; you're so selfdestructive! I'm only taking the pendulum, not your other cool powers! As long as you don't travel back in time, you can do whatever you want!" January then summoned another one of his Satellarknights. The cape-carrying fencer surrounded by a purple radiance; Betelgeuse(4/700/1900). "Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse! I tribute you!" Through the sacrifice of the Satellarknight, a player could retrieve one Satellarknight from his graveyard. January settled for Satellarknight Vega. "Anyway. I'll just keep slashing until I get somewhere. Cant really think of a quicker plan yet." He placed two trap cards down to cap off his turn.

"i do not understand you either.. none of you. you should hate me, you should want to take everything from me... I.. i can not believe it." Anastasia drew her next card, and her eyes flickered with a curious light. "i.. use an equip spell on my token... moon mirror shield." The DOG fighter token was coated in a silver layer of metal. "now, my monster will automatically gain the attackpoints of the monster it attacks.. plus one hundred." She started the battle phase and the token charged January's Utopian knight with the shield. "Nice spell! Too nice maybe!" The kid activated one of his traps, Typhoon. "Gonna have to smash it!" An inverted whirlwind of thunder and dust shot up from the clouds below, threatening to suck the equip spell into its funnel. "kozmo dark eclipser.. once a turn it can negate the effect of one trap." The lady dispelled the storm before it could get to that point, negating Typhoon with Eclipser's effect. "you can not stop this. i cannot stop this. 'tempus' blessed me.. each time you try, fate will find a way to put me back on top. so there is only one ending to this story." The Token readied its lasers and locked on to Utopia the Lightning.

"Well, I don't know how strong that blessing is. But I am pretty blessed too! I got too live, and I got to stay as the boy I always used to be! So let's see what's stronger; a blessing stops bad things from happening or a blessing that makes good things happen!" He revealed his final trap card. "XYZ-Reborn!" The trap revived one XYZ-monster in attack position and attached itself to that monster. "King of hope: Utopia!" That monster was the original 39th number; Utopia(4/2500/2000). "Utopia can negate one attack by using one XYZ-material!" The warrior detached the XYZ-Reborn trap card and blocked the attack of the DOGfighter token with one of its wings. "Whoa! He stopped her!" Eric gasped. "But he can only do that once." Stonewell pointed out. "And if that monster has no XYZ-materials when it is attacked, it will destroy itself." Kozmo Dark Eclipser carried out its own assault and blew the hope king to pieces. It died before damage calculation could even take place. "..." So Anastasia redirected her attack towards Utopia the Lightning. "Oh boy!" This time January used the last two materials from his XYZ-monster to bring its attackpoints back up and to have it(5000/2000) destroy the attacking starship. Of course, Point of the Soul lowered the battle damage to nothing.

"There's nothing left." Alice softly said. Even though January survived this turn, he didn't have any hope of actually winning unless he could get rid of Anastasia's spells. Utopia the Lightning was seemingly at its limit. "oh, it is time." While Anastasia switched Kozmo Landwalker to defense mode, the tower tip behind her released another laser into space. "the towers are now at full power. the satellites cover all target areas. you could not find my brother, you could not bring me hope. can you still say that everything will work out?" The mournful lady inquired as she let her turn come to a rest. "Yup. I am not worried! I bet December is already knocking on your brother's door right now!" January shrugged. "Stop playing with her, January. This has gone on long enough." June chided the kid. "I guess so. But I had fun. You're really good, lady Tempus." He pulled the card from the top of his deck and grinned. "Go and go, Satellarknights Vega and Rigel." He started this last turn the same as his first turn. Vega(4/1200/1600) was normal summoned by his master. Rigel(4/1900/1300) was special summoned by Vega's effect.

"And activate the spell together! Tellarknights Genesis!" The starknight duo crossed their arms and gathered the light of the stars around them. "genesis?" The effect of the card caused Anastasia to go pale with dread. "Yup! Tellarknights Genesis destroys one of your spells or traps, for each of my Satellarknights! Two for two!" The young duelist clapped his hands twice, and his spell targeted Point of the Soul and Moon Mirror Shield. "that would .. mean a loss?" The cosmic duelist needed more time then she got, to process the situation. Without her spells, there was nothing to shield her monsters or her lifepoints. "Utopia the Lightning! Bring down the token!" The shining hope warrior was her downfall. Utopia the Lightning used one sword to destroy the DOGfighter token, and to remove Anastasia's remaining lifepoints from the aether. "He defeated her!" Stonewell shouted. "Y-yeah.." Alice responded with less excitement. It was a victory, yet it did not feel like one.

Anastasia's LP: 0

"you.. won.. you stopped me." Anastasia dropped down to her knees. "now what will you do?" She looked down, letting all the cards fall out of her hand. "Well stop your satellites, for one thing." June picked up the golden millennium card and inserted it back into the control panel. "Oh and we will be taking your crystal too. Both of them." January pointed his finger at the lady's head ornament and what she still carried inside her mantle; Martels creepy puppet with the crystal eye. "..but what about me?" Anastasia asked, as her voice cracked. "What do you want them to do?" Alice shuddered. The way she behaved right now unsettled her. "She wants to receive punishment.. justice." Adamant was guessing. "Justice?" Stonewell scoffed. "It is true." June confirmed Adamant's suspicion. "You were hoping that we could end everything, that we would do to you what you have done to our friends and family... that we would erase you from time. That is why you pushed this far, to get Alice.. and then us to come after you." June turned off the signal from the city tower with a simple sequence of button-pushes; preventing the worldwide carding operation from reaching its final stage. "Anastasia Nisell, that's not something you can bargain for, you will not get an easy way out."

"Ana."

"Uno!?" Little brother was suddenly with them. He came for his friends, instead he got this scene. "uno.. how long have you been.." Anastasia turned her eyes away. "Long enough. I wanted to come sooner, but.. That's not important. Ana, I know why you did this. The man I used to be, made all of this possible for you. I am not angry." He walked towards her and sat down. "But I don't think I can be that Uno anymore. I feel the same guilt. That's why I brought the travelers in. I am sorry, I never thought how you would feel about this. You wanted to help. You have helped! Adamant is still alive because of you!" If she needed living proof, the XYZ-duelist was right there. "I cannot deny, that this power to defy time can bring forth good." Adamant did not like to think about it. But he already kept glancing at where his wound used to be, so it was hard to forget. "Yeah! You're not a bad guy like your brother!" Eric declared. "Not _as_ bad at least." Even Stonewell sort of agreed. "but.." Anastasia still looked forlorn. "..even if i've stopped, marco will make me... us keep going." She took the crystal from her headband. "none of this would have happened, if the pendulums did not exist."

"That is true." August showed up from the inside of the tower and snatched the crystal from her hand. "Can I have the other one?" January picked up Martel's doll. "Do what you want." August snarled. "Now make no mistake.. your brother will soon be dealt with." He gave his partners a knowing glare. "Wait. You.." Uno's eyes widened. "Yes. December has located Marco Amadeus Nisell. We are heading there now, January." The red duelist ordered. "Yes sir! Well it was fun, but we gotta go now!" January waved at the duelists and prepared his pendulum. "Wait!" Uno got back up. "I am going with you! I need to see this through for my sake and Ana's sake." It didn't matter to him if they were going to let him come along or not. He was going to follow them regardless. "Didn't you have other matters to resolve first?" June inquired. "I do, but.." Uno took off his necklace and handed it to Alice. "She can do the rest."

"Huh?" Alice blinked. "Alice. Find your dad, find Erics mom. Then take the others to the fusion guilds tower and through the gate. I already showed Dom, Iria and Zach the way through." He knew she could use the pendulum's teleporting power just as well as he could. "You're leaving?" This was the first Stonewell heard of this. "I am?" Eric sputtered. "The sooner the better." August growled. "Even if we stop Marco, you should return to your original dimensions. After all, you wont be able to see your counterparts anymore once we claim all the pendulums." June clarified it a bit further. "A true separation of timelines, would be the best solution." Adamant agreed with the plan. "Can we at least say goodbye to everyone?" Alice asked. "I will allow you ten minutes, no more." June nodded and looked at Uno. "Are you ready to go?" He nodded back. "Goodbye guys. Catch you on the other side." He saluted his friends one last time, and January whisked him, and the timetravelers away to parts unknown. "uno.. please stop .. everything." Anastasia whispered as she gazed across the horizon.

...

The Grand Inquisitor was waiting. Her lord was resting, charging his powers while keeping his mind far away from the physical realm. Though this island resort was off the grid and unlikely to be discovered by outsiders, she was told to prepare for the worst. The worst exceeded her expectations. "They're here! Protect the Lord!" They invaded with no lead-up: Uno and the four timetravelers. January brought them right on their doorstep. But she felt she was ready and ordered all loyal troops to start firing at them. "Hmph." August the synchro user deflected all their shots with a swarm of summoned wyrms and dragons. "Aahhh!" The next thing the enforcers experienced was pain and terror as the telepath June entered their minds and shut them down. "What have you done!?" One by one the soldiers fell down, forced into a deep slumber. "Removed the weakminded from the equation. That just leaves you." Only this world's Iria Silver stood between them.. "We've come for my brother, Silver!" And the lord Amadeus. "You can collect him from my bleeding hands! I.." Still the Inquisitor was willing to take on these odds. She reached for her dueldisk.

"No. There is no Need, my Inquisitor." That was when Marco woke up, opened his eyes and rose from the floor. "You cannot Stop them. But I can.." He smiled at his guests. "Welcome, Friends.. to the end of this world."

(To be Continued in Redux 018: Condemned to Repeat)

 **New Cards used by Anastasia Nisell**  
Kozmo Dark Eclipser

-  
Temple of the Soul  
Moon Mirror Shield

-  
Multiple Destruction

 **New Cards used by January/Neter**  
Effect Veiler  
Honest  
Satellarknight Betelgeuse

-  
Tellarknights Genesis

-  
Balance of Judgment  
Typhoon  
XYZ Reborn


	74. Condemned to Repeat

**Redux 17: Condemned to Repeat**

The time had come for more goodbyes. While Adamant wanted to extract some last few bits of data from the palace database, and Eric tried to convince his mother to take another teleporting trip.. Alice found her father. "You really think you can go?" This was the first time she saw him walk and talk again after being possessed by Martel. "I feel fit as a fiddle. And if you say the portal is safe, then it must be safe." James was just hoping to see his other daughter and wife again once he crossed over. "And you're coming too I assume?" He definitely would not leave her behind either. "I.." But Alice was not so sure, if she could go there. She was not a true part of that world. "I still wanna say goodbye to some people, like Amelia." She did not want to think about it right now. "Ah. That's right. You met us in this ..timeline.. too." He was still trying to wrap his head around this entire concept of parallel dimensions. "Just you and her.. not.. me." This could be the last time Alice saw her father in a long time. "Dad. I have to tell you something before you go." So she had to take the chance. "It's about.. me.."

...

"So you're the Great December and Company. The ones who Have been Chasing me for all These years!? Well Here I Am. I is Rather Surprising that it Took you this Long, in fact." Marco welcomed his guests with open arms, acting rather blaze about their hostility. "Once we knew who you were, it was only a matter of time. Items you touched, leave behind a trail of temporal instability. And the past, present and future of those instabilities led us here." December explained, while clearly holding back a great deal of anger. "Time is always The matter, wouldn't You say?" The lord chuckled as he dangled the pendulum between his hands. "And yours has run out, Amadeus Nisell. You have not yet gathered enough energy for a jump back into the past." June noted. His crystal was burning brighter than ever before, yet the charge was not complete. "My lord, let me delay them for you." Inquisitor Silver placed her hand on her dueldisk again. "Nonsense my Dear Inquisitor. As strong as You are, you would Not last a single Turn. It is Me they want." Marco stepped forward.

"Or is it? Can the Four of you truly Hate me when The One who caused All your Misery is standing Next to you!? Christopher!" He spat. "You were Fathers first. Once Father died, you made the Decision to Jump to the Past each time and Continue his Legacy!" Marco pointed his finger at Uno accusingly. "Marco. We made that choice together!" Uno countered. "And you're making it on your own now!" August added with a shaking fist. "Your brother's been cooperating with us all this time, Amadeus Nisell. He wants to make amends." June shook her head. "Yeah! And you sister gave up her crystals, you're the last one!" January waved Martels doll around with his hand. "You have two choices; resistance or submission. I can already see which choice you desire." December sighed deeply. "Marco, son of Tempus; I accept your challenge." The leader of the travelers activated his dueldisk. "Lord Nisell!" To Silver's dismay, her master did the same. "I defeated their Companion before, he will Be no different. And his Pendulum is Obviously the strongest of all Them. If I add His to mine, We will be Unstoppable!"

December's LP: 8000 Tempus's LP: 8000

"And when I win, your crystal will fall in our hands. The only hands that can be trusted." December calmly drew his cards. "Is that the future you saw? Hah! You are in For a Violent wake-up call! The first Turn is mine!" Marco summoned the Tour Guide from the Underworld(3/1000/600). "I special summon Graff, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss!" The Guide's effect summoned the winged hound fiend(3/1000/1500) from Marco's deck. Its effects were negated, but only while it was on the field.. "XYZ-summon!" Marco overlayed the Tour Guide with the Graff demon. "Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss!" And he summoned hells traveler Dante(3/1000/2500) in attack position. "Oh? This guy uses XYZ-monsters? Neat!" January was excited to see the card. "No. He deals with more than that." August grunted.

"Dante shall Sever the top three Cards from my Deck and he Gains 500 attackpoints for Each fallen card!" The Traveler used up the Graff XYZ-Material to activate his effect. Three effects activated in a sequence; Dante(2500/2500) gained 1500 attackpoints. The detached Graff Malebranche special summoned a Burning Abyss monster from the deck; Cir the hog-faced Malebranche(3/1600/1200). And one of the discarded cards, Libic - Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, could special summon one Burning Abyss monster from Marco's hand when it was sent to the graveyard. "Malebranche Draghig!" Marco used that effect to place the vile dragon demon Draghig(3/1100/900) on the field. "And as I control no Spells or Traps, I shall Special summon the Tuner Malebranche, Rubic of the Burning Abyss, from my Hand!" The red-faced devil(3/100/2100) emerged from a circle of purple flames. "Synchro summon! Virgil the Rockstar of the Burning Abyss!" Rubic took its own stars and synchronized them with those of Draghig. The two demons came together in a flash and created the hellish guitar player Virgil(6/2500/1000). "Impressed Yet, December?"

"..." Marco's opponent had nothing to add. "Hoho! You can probably already See what color comes Next! I activate the fusion Spell: Terminus of the Burning Abyss!" Marco took Cir and Virgil on the field, and fused them with a Scarm Malebranche in his hand. "Three Burning Abyssals! Together they Form Dante the Pilgrim!" The older and wiser form of Dante, the holy priest(9/2800/2500) in white robes, arrived in the physical world to assist his younger XYZ-self. "Return, Virgil!" Marco also special summoned the Rockstar back in attack position, using the effect of the fused Cir to revive it. Meanwhile during his endphase, Marco could add a new Burning Abyss monster to his hand with Scarm's effect. "Am I honoring the Image you have of Tempus, December? Father dueled just like This. How does that Make you Feel?!" Marco added another Graff Malebranche card to his hand and let the first turn end. "That is the power of my lord. Only he can summon all three extra deck types in the first turn." Even Inquisitor Silver rarely saw opening moves like that, and she'd modeled her dueling style after his. "Your master is trying to scare December. But.. December is not the one who's afraid.. I am afraid." June said, repressing a laugh.

"To master all forms of summoning that came before, means to travel through the original worlds that invented those methods." December looked at his companions: June, August and December. "Your father was not the only one, who visited such realms.. Marco Amadeus Nisell... I activate my Contracts." A continuous spell rose from the ground. Dark Contract with the Gate added a D/D monster to the players hand each turn. "D/D Night Howl." December shuffled his deck after he took a tuner monster from his deck. Then came normal spell card; Allure of Darkness. It drew two cards (D/D Berfomet, Forbidden Contract with the Swamp King) and banished a dark monster, D/D Savant Copernicus, from his hand. "My second contract." The pendulum duelist then put down the Dark Contract with the Swamp King continuous spell, which could fuse two D/D monsters together. "D/D Berfomet, D/D Lamia; combine. And burn again, D/D/D Flame King Genghis!" Two D/D monsters in his hand functioned as the fusion materials for an attack-position blazing conquerer(6/2000/1500) with the red sword and towering shield.

"So, you are skilled in Fusion? Are you?" Marco chuckled. "It will begin with Fusion." December decreed before he normal summoned his next card, a tuner monster(3/300/600) that was nothing more than toothfilled jaws and two eyestalks. " "Live, D/D Nighthowl. And return to life, D/D Berfomet." The demon beast(4/1400/1800) with two right arms and a left batwing flew out of the graveyard, through the effect of the normal summoned Nighthowl. Now, December could not summon anything but fiends for the rest of the turn. "Harmonize!" But that was no hindrance. December used Nighthowl as the tuner, and Berfomet as the nontuner. The two synchro summoned the white armor king(7/2500/2000) in attack position. "You have come, D/D/D Gust King Alexander!"

"Now, serve him, D/D Lamia!" December continued and activated the effect of his other tuner from the graveyard. "Destroy one Contract, and revive!" The red scale-haired snake woman, D/D Lamia(1/100/1900), sent Dark Contract with the Swamp King to the graveyard, to summon herself from the graveyard. "One D/D monster has been restored. The Gust King will restore one other!" Alexander plunged his sword into the grave, to special summon a lowlevel D/D monster from the graveyard. It chose D/D Berfomet. "Equalize, Lamia and Berfomet!" Now finally D/D Berfomet could used its effect to change the level of a fellow D/D monster to anything from 1 to 8. Berfomet gave D/D Lamia(4/100/1900) the same level as it. "Surface now, D/D/D Wave king Caesar!" And so December overlayed Lamia with Berfomet for a rank 4 XYZ-monster. He XYZ-summoned the black knight lord of the seas; Caesar(4/2400/2000). "Synchros and XYZs eh! Too little too Late!" Marco blustered. If it came down to a fight between the D/D/D extra deck monsters and his. The Burning Abyssals would certainly win.

"You who only run to the past, can know nothing and say nothing about the future." December stated with scorn. "Forbidden Dark Contract with the Swamp King!" The field made room for another contract. "Forbidden?" Uno did a double-take. This was not the same spell. Forbidden Dark Contract special summoned a D/D/D monster from a players hand each turn, with their effects negated. "To me, Oblivion King Abyss Ragnarok!" December used it to special summon the horned emperor on his throne; Abyss Ragnarok(8/3000/1000). "Abyss Ragnarok, combine with Caesar!" The Forbidden spell would then fuse the summoned monster with another fiend. And when one combined the Oblivion King with the Wave King, two D/D/D fusion materials, a special fusion monster would be created. "D/D/D Wave Oblivion King Caesar Ragnarok!" The emperor rose from his throne as his body merged with the Wave King. Armor turned purple, the cape became wild and tattered, his body increased muscle mass. This was the ultimate Dark Dimension fusion; Caesar Ragnarok(10/3200/3000). "So he finally gets to use all that anger..." Even August was surprised that December brought that card out.

"Genghis, Caesar; do what must be done!" Once a D/D monster was special summoned, Flame King Genghis could resurrect a D/D monster. And it revived the original Wave King Caesar in attack position. The effect of the XYZ-monster had also been triggered when it first turned from living to dead. Caesar took a Dark Contract spell from Decembers deck, and December placed that card on the field. "My Illegal Dark Contract with the Wargod! Take my opponents power and deliver it towards the Oblivion Wave Lord!" The wargod's spell targeted Dante the Traveler. "Deliver?" One thousand of his(1500/2500) attackpoints were stolen and transferred to Caesar Ragnarok(4200/3000).

 _Illegal Dark Contract with the Wargod, Continuous Spell_  
 _Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can target 1 "D/D" monster you control and 1 monster your opponent controls; |_  
 _until the end of this turn, that monster you control gains 1000 ATK, also that monster your opponent controls loses 1000 ATK._  
 _Once per turn, during your Standby Phase: Take 1000 damage._

"This.. is the end." December clenched his hand to signal the start of the battle phase. His greater fusion lord targeted the Pilgrim Dante. "Caesar Ragnarok, take the power of the Forbidden Swampking and remove his synchro monster!" The fused wave oblivion lord always activated its effect during its attack by returning one Dark Contract to the players hand, and equipping one other monster to itself. Rockstar Virgil was captured by its frantic scrolls. "It took Virgil?!" Virgil transformed into an equip spell that added Virgil's attackpoints to that of Caesar Ragnarok(6700/3000). "Preposterous!" The attack finished and the combined forces of Caesar Ragnarok's dark waves and Dante's holy light destroyed the Pilgrim Dante XYZ-monster. "Perish, Fused Pilgrim!" Then Gust King Alexander sliced his sword through the weakened Dante, delivering another 1000 points of battle damage. "Impossible! He is going to win in one turn?!" Silver cried out as the original Caesar delivered a third direct attack to deplete another 2400 of Marco's remaining lifepoints. "In the end, December is just too much." June mused. "... but the last time my brother came this close to defeat." Uno did not want to say it out loud, he wanted the final attack from Genghis to hit Marco.

Marco's LP: 700

Alas..

Marco's LP: 8000

The field changed ever so subtly. "What the hell?" The duelists and bystanders were all standing in slightly different positions, Decembers field was devoid of cards and Marco controlled all his Burning Abyssals again. "You went back again?!" Uno cried out. "Did you think I would Allow defeat?" Marco held up his pendulum crystal, which burned a brilliant golden flame. Time was rewound. "What did you Think? With my Pendulum charged up, I can return Time by Five Minutes as many times as I Want! Did Christopher not Warn you?" They were back at the end of Marco's turn, just as he activated Terminus of the Burning Abyss to fusion summon Dante the Pilgrim. "You fool! Five minutes doesn't change a thing! We're still here and you cannot run from us!" August roared with rage. "I do not Intend to Run, dragon duelist! I intend to Claim your friends Power!" Marco ended his first turn for the second time, and activated Scarm's effect. "I chose this Point in time, the Decision point!" Instead of adding a Graff Malebranche to his hand, he took Alich, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from his deck. "How does the Future look now, December?"

"A pendulum can alter the course of events my eyes foresaw." Alich would negate a monsters effect if it was sent to the graveyard. Dante the Pilgrim could discard that card from Marco's hand at any point. Cards like Caesar Ragnarok would not get their chance to use their effects. "But, what if your future was already decided the second I prepared my cards?" Now December started his turn anew and activated the spell card; Dark Contract with the Gate. "Hm? He's starting with one now?!" Instead of adding DD Night Howl, the continuous spell put D/D Berfomet in Decembers hand. "Oh! He's shuffling his deck differently!" Uno realized what December was doing. He was changing the order he was going to draw cards in. So when he activated Allure of Darkness, he would draw two entirely different cards from his deck. "And so? You cannot Control what you Draw!" Marco protested. "Unless I could plan for every potential future; if I could predict when to shuffle my deck.. Amadeus Nisell." December drew D/D Swirl Slime and Dark Contract with the Grotesque Entity, his key cards. Afterwards, Allure of Darkness banished D/D Lamia

"I bind myself to your contract, Grotesque Entity!" December activated his second continuous spell, without effect as of yet. "D/D Swirl Slime, combine with Abyss Ragnarok!" The green slime-containing demon allowed December to perform an instant fusion summon between itself and the Oblivion Overlord card. They combined into the Flame King Genghis(6/2000/1500). "Swirl Slime, bring Copernicus to me!" The slime's second effect special summoned one D/D monster from December's hand. That was the living heliocentric model(4/0/0) of the solar system in this case. Afterwards December normal summoned D/D Berfomet(4/1400/1800). "Your time has come once more, Wave King Caesar!" December overlayed Berfomet with Copernicus and re-summoned the XYZ lord(4/2400/2000) of the dark dimensions. "A D/D/D XYZ-monster is special summoned, the Dark Contract of the Entity shall now activate!" December extended his hand towards Marco's field. "One card you possess, is lost forever!" The Grotesque spell opened a rift to the other dimension. "What!? But Dante cannot be targeted by effects!" Marco yelled. Dante the Pilgrim was dragged inside and banished all the same. "The Entity does not target, Amadeus Nisell." December clarified.

"He got rid of the Dante, before it could even discard Alich." Silver could not believe what she was seeing: December came out on top again, free to use whatever monster effect he desired. "He can prepare for multiple futures? How did I even survive dueling him then?" Uno wondered out loud. "He's stronger.. because the end is in sight, Uno. December may not show it, Uno. But this is what he's like.. when he is satisfied." June explained. At this point, to Marco's utter horror, December performed the rest of his turn the same as before. He activated Dark Contract with the Swamp King to fuse Caesar on the field with Abyss Ragnarok in the graveyard. The two D/D/D fusion materials created the Wave Oblivion Lord(10/3200/3000) once again. The fused Wave Caesar added Illegal Dark Contract with the Wargod to December's hand. Genghis summoned Wave King Caesar back from the graveyard, because a D/D monster was special summoned through the Swampkings's contract. "Uhhh.." Marco staggered backwards when the attacks came. Caesar Ragnarok equipped the Rockstar Virgil to his body(5700/3000), powered itself(6700/3000) up with the Illegal contract while depowering Dante the Traveler(1500/2500) and destroyed it with one attack.

"Stop!" Before Marco could receive the two direct attacks from Wave Caesar and Genghis, he reactivated his pendulum. "My lord.." The Inquisitor was starting to feel queasy, when time rewound around her and the others. In an instant they were back to the end of Marco's first turn. "Now he's just being a sore loser!" January said with a grump. "You shall Not defeat me while my Paths are left unexplored!" Marco yelled as he fusion summoned Dante the Pilgrim for the third time. "It is no use, son of Tempus. No matter how far back you go, I can see whatever future lies ahead and react accordingly." December revealed his hand to his opponent, his Dark Contract with the Gate, Allure of Darkness, Abyss Ragnarok, D/D Lamia and D/D Savant Copernicus. The next card he would draw was the Dark Contract with the Swamp King. "Your fate has been set by just these six cards, I can shape the future however I wish. And I wish.." December glared at the lord with cold unblinking eyes. "For this to end. For _you_ , and _your_ family, to end."

...

"Wow." James' mind reeled a little, after he received a condensed but no less horrific version of Alice's story. "And they're.." Even if he did not understand the why and how, he understood how painful it must have been for her to tell him. "They're gone.. my other..mom and dad." Alice managed to say it all without tears or pains. "But I.." It did not make her feel any happier that her new father now knew. What would he think of her now? "Alice. It's okay. No matter what happened, you're still my little angel. You'll always be one of the family." He told her as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Dad.." It was getting harder to not cry now.

"alice." The tender moment was broken up by the lady of the palace. "Miss Anastasia?" Alice did not think she would see her again. Anastasia isolated herself in her room before. "i need you.. to take me.. i can sense them now, i can sense time going back and forth. i have to see them.." She had to be talking about her brothers. "Time? Is it Marco?" Though Alice never noticed anything weird. Perhaps because of the pendulum she carried? "him, uno, the travelers.. and something else. i can feel it, something bad is about to happen. i have to be there..."

(To be Continued in Redux 016: Ab Aeterno)

 **New Cards used by Marco Amadeus Nisell  
** Tour Guide from the Underworld  
Libic - Malebranche of the Burning Abyss

 **New Cards used by December  
** D/D Lamia  
D/D Savant Copernicus

-  
D/D/D Wave Oblivion King Caesar Ragnarok

-  
Allure of Darkness  
Forbidden Dark Contract with the Swamp King  
 _Illegal Dark Contract with the Wargod (+)  
_ Dark Contract with the Grotesque Entity

 _(+ Based on the spell card used by Reiji in YuGiOh Arc-V)_


	75. Ab Aeterno

**Redux 16: Ab Aeterno**

December's LP: 8000 Tempus's LP: 8000

"The weakness to your Strategy is Obvious!" Marco yelled as he ended his first turn for the third time. "Your XYZ-materials are the Key, therefor I will Erase them!" This time he used the effect of Malebranche Scarm to add a Farfa Malebranche to his hand. "Oh? He's gonna banish his monsters?!" Though not a psychic himself, Uno could tell what his brother wanted to do. Marco controlled Dante the Pilgrim(9/2800/2500), who could discard Burning Abyss monsters from the hand to draw new cards. If Farfa was discarded, a monster would be banished for the rest of the turn. "Hee, this is not even a roadbump forol'Dec." January giggled.

Decembers turn started. "I have showed you the futility of your actions. Yet you continue to cling to idle hopes." Allure of Darkness activated first this time, drawing two cards from his unshuffled deck before banishing D/D Lamia. "This will be the end of the elegance you think you deserve." December revealed the two cards he drew: Trade In and D/D Savant Newton. "A Pendulum summon? You Presume that that's Going to be enough?" Marco scoffed when he realized December was putting a pair o scales together. "I do not _presume_." December activated his Dark Contract with the Gate to add one D/D/D Kaiser the Conqueror monster to his hand. Then, when the duelist activated the Trade In spell and discarded the level 8 D/D/D Abyss Ragnarok from his hand to draw two new cards, he drew a second D/D/D Kaiser the Conqueror along with D/D/D Rebel King Leonidas. "Two of Them? This cannot Be.." Already the future was a lot clearer, the fragments of Decembers strategy framed a bleak image for Marco. "Any future can be, Son of Tempus."

"I set the scales, Copernicus and Newton!" The solar system savant (scale 1) and newtons cradle telescope (scale 10) dropped down on either side of the field. "Pendulum summon!" December summoned both roman Kaisers(7/2800/2100) to the field in attack position, along with the spartan warrior king Leonidas(7/2600/1200). "My pendulum summoned Kaiser, stops all opposing monster effects on the field, for the rest of this turn!" The conquerors spread their dark aura across the field, encompassing the Traveler Dante(3/2500/2500) and Virgil(6/2500/1000) in pitchblack shadows. "Rgh! But I still have Time! I always Have Time!" Marco chained with his fusion monsters effect before it was negated. Dante the Pilgrim discarded Farfa of the Burning Abyss from Marco's hand. "Your Kaisers do not stop effects from activating in the graveyard!" The discarded Farfa Malebranche resolved on a separate chain and targeted one of the two Conquerors, banishing it from the field for the rest of the turn. The other Kaiser survived and finished negating the powers of Marco's legion.

"A pointless struggle. Do you need to see more of this future?" December cast a resentful glare towards his opponent. "Or do you need more time? I will not stop for you, regardless." December entered with the Dark Contract with the Swamp King spell. "Combine, Leonidas and Abyss Ragnarok." He skipped Genghis; his spell fusion straigh-up summoned Ceasar Ragnarok the Wave Oblivion Lord(10/3200/3000) by fusing the D/D/D Rebel King on the field with the Oblivion Lord in the graveyard. "Kaiser the Conqueror, destroy two of my spells, so that your blade may strike thrice this battle phase!" The remaining Kaiser swung his weapon through the Dark Contract with the Swamp King and the Dark Contract with the Gate. The dark powers of both spells imbued the Conqueror's sword with deadly energy. "That will Do!" Marco'd seen enough to know how this turn would end. Ceasar Ragnarok would absorb Dante the Pilgrim and steal its attackpoints. One attack from Caesar Ragnarok and three from Kaiser the Conqueror would be enough to destroy Dante and his lifepoints

"Reverse!" So Marco grabbed his pendulum and turned back time once again. "Marco. This is getting insane! You're going to destroy something if you keep this up!" Uno could not imagine that this was healthy for time and space. "You always lecture Me, Christopher! Just like Father! But you are Not him!" Marco moved to his turns endphase, to the moment where Scarm's effect would activate. "One more Turn. One more Turn is all I need!" The abyssal duelist used the effect to claim the Malebranche of the Burning Abyss - Graff. If that one ever entered the graveyard, one Burning Abyss monster could be special summoned from the deck. "You future hope is now that you can use Graff to summon Farfa, to banish one of my monsters during the battle phase." December did not even pause as he spoke, he activated the same cards and effects from before. "You should already know you cannot run, not even on the untainted straight path. Your defeat has already been made manifest in over a thousand ways."

December activated Allure of Darkness, banished Lamia and drew Trade In/Newton the Savant. He activated Dark Contract with the Gate to take the first Kaiser the Conqueror from his deck. And finally he activated Trade In to discard Abyss Ragnarok and draw Kaiser the Conqueror and a D/D Lilith monster. "What? It's different this time?" Eric tilted his head. He didn't see how December changed the outcome of his deck. "The randomization is always different for a dueldisk, at different times. He must be waiting for the right moment to play his cards." Adamant reasoned. "And or he just used the Gate Contract to take the second of two Kaisers from his deck, instead of the first." Uno still was flabbergasted that someone could duel like this. "D/D Lilith! Return Abyss Ragnarok!" Once December normal summoned the rose-serpent demon(4/100/2100) with the crown of fire petals, one of the D/D monsters in the graveyard could be returned to Decembers hand. And he he chose the traded Oblivion Lord. "Pendulum summon!"

And once December set his scales of Copernicus and Newton, Abyss Ragnarok(8/2200/3000) was special summoned along with the two Kaiser conquest kings(7/2800/2100). Rgh!" Marco had to activate the fusion Dante's effect now, and it discarded Graff who in turn special summoned Farfa the long grey-haired goblin Malebranche(3/1000/1900) in defense mode "Abyss Ragnarok, bring ruin to the fused Pilgrim!" But the Oblivion Lord's effect did not just destroy cards, it banished them. The Ragnarok demon sacrificed D/D Lilith and targeted the newest Burning Abyssal. Its pendulum ribbons stretched out and constricted Farfa until all life left its body. "How many Times must this Happen?" Marco's four monsters faced Decembers three Kings who could dish out seven attacks altogether this turn. The outcome was obvious. "You can't win this!" Uno could see it, everyone could see it. "marco.." And his sister could see it too.

"Guys?" Uno gasped. "Even more of them?" The Inquisitor flinched. Anastasia, Alice, Eric and Adamant arrived on the island with Uno's pendulum. "Sister.." Of course she would figure out what he'd been doing. And even though Alice dropped off her father and Eric's mother at the portal first, there was enough time within the five minute interval to get the others here. "You've been dueling all this time?" They updated themselves on the situation quickly. "Yeah, and Dec is kicking his butt!" January happily proclaimed. "And yet he will Never achieve Victory!" The now furious Marco braced his pendulum for another timejump. "The crystal!? You're still doing that time cheat?" Eric loudly objected. "How many times has it been now?" Alice did not know what was more shocking. The fact that Marco could get away with it, or that December could adjust to it every time. "several times.. he can do it as long as he wants." Anastasia moaned. Unlike her, her brother could control when and where time would reset.

"marco..." His sister spoke up. "please. just let it end. it has gone on for so long. they're all tired, we are all tired.. you can not keep this going forever." She was pleading with him, with a tone that he was not used to hearing. "You are One to Talk! You can keep Going no matter What, sister! Have you even Told them what you are Capable of?" Marco threw the accusations back at her. "She has." But Adamant was quick to jump in. "It is not the power that condemns, but the way it is used. One who keeps erasing his own mistakes, will never learn from them and will only destroy those around him. You no not deserve another chance, Marco Amadeus Nisell." And Adamant knew all about second chances. "Adamant.." In fact Alice wondered if Adamant was also not talking about himself. He sounded like it. "What do you know?" Still, Amadeus did not heed his words.

"Tsss.. Amadeus. As much fun as this is this, maybe you should use your pendulum in a different way?" June pointed her finger at December. "December.. Let me connect his mind with yours, let him see his own future. Marco can choose for himself how his continued resistance will turn out." She held up her hand. "What?" Marco did not get a say in the matter. Once December gave the nod, June unleashed her power. "Why are You?" Marco could see right into Decembers mind, into the visions of futures that did not or did not yet exist. "Why are you Letting me See this?" Marco saw everything, every outcome. If the lord tried to do something different like XYZ-summoning Beatrice the Eternal Lady, December would counter with three Kaiser Conquerors at once. If he tried to go back to the very beginning of the duel, shuffle his deck differently.. then December would also shuffle his deck differently and draw the cards he needed to smash down anything Marco could put up. "How is This possible? Only my Father could ever Defy me! Why does Fate always Bend to your Whims, who Gave you the Right?"

"Because the more you use your pendulums power, the more power you give me. I do not remember my world or how I gained my gift. But.." December showed his own pendulum crystal to his opponent. "..this crystal surpasses yours. I was nothing before Tempus and Tempus will be nothing after me. This is the final hour." December entered the battle phase and declared his seven attacks. "No." The last shred of fighting spirit crumbled inside of his body. Marco dropped to his knees and let the pendulum slip out of his hands. "My lord!" Inquisitor Silver called out in vain as all Burning Abyssals were destroyed by the Kaisers and Abyss Ragnarok. Their masters lifepoints soon followed. "I can not.. win." Everything Marco saw was what was going to happen, all of it was the truth. There was nothing he could to stop it.

Marco's LP: 0

"He.. did it. Finally." June and the others were overjoyed to see it end. Though they did not yet fully comprehend what this moment meant. "So.. that's it? It's over?" Eric was the first to name the feeling. This was the end. "All enemies have fallen. In this world at least." Adamant knew there were still more threats to deal with, but for now this was a joyous occasion. "But.. what's next?" Uno did not know if they knew where the travelers would go from here. "First we claim what is ours." August grunted and grabbed two objects from the fallen Amadeus; his pendulum crystal and a certain synchro monster. "My soul burns whole once again." August returned the Red Dragon Archfiend card to his own deck. "How dare you!" The Inquisitor still offered words of protest, even while her lord held his tongue. "Silence!" December shouted. "This has not yet been resolved. Why are you here? You were told to leave this dimension" He turned his attention towards Alice and the others. "But Anastasia felt something was going to happen! She asked me to bring her here!" Alice boldly explained. She refused to be scared of him now. "Ana?" But that was not the problem. "What did you feel? Marco?"

"no.. not him.. it's.."

She did not have an answer, she did not understand what she felt or why she felt it. But soon she would, they all would. "Huh?" It happened to Alice's pendulum first. "Ow!" The crystal exploded with searing hot sparks of energy. "What did you do?" August growled at her. "I didn't do anything!" She asserted. The crystal was out of her control, it floated above the ground in a ball of light. "What is it doing?" Adamant asked the travelers. "Dunno. They never did that before.. whohey!" January was the second to notice the effects; his crystals flared up. "It's happening with all of them!" June was forced to detach her crystals from her earrings, before they wrapped themselves in their own bright bubble. "Why!?" August failed to contain his crystals, or the one he took from Marco and Anastasia. "Something is.. being summoned." Only December managed to keep his pendulum in his hand. But even from there it released a beam into the sky. "Gah!" All seven crystals created a pillar so bright, its shape was burned into the retinas of everyone around. "Summoned? Who?"

"father.." Anastasia's eyes grew wide, her mouth twisted into a smile. "What!?" Even Marco sprang back to life as he looked up. "Father? You mean!?" Uno opened his eyes, and a pounding tremor struck the core of his being. Inside the pillar of light was now a man, an old tall man with a long white beard and robes of many colors. On his left arm was a dueldisk extended like a scythe's blade. On his right arm was a golden chain. He carried the appearance of the grim reaper, but this was undoubtedly him. The memories all came flushing back to Uno. "Tempus.." This was the man who pulled him from his life and his world, who made him into Christopher Uno Nisell. "But.. I thought.." This despite being told that he had long since passed away; Alice remembered Anastasia saying she'd seen his death herself. "How can you still be.. alive?" And so did Marco. It might have taken place centuries ago from his point of view, but the memory was no lie.

"My sons."

Tempus spoke, once he landed on the ground with both his feet. There was a gentleness to his voice, like that of a kindly old grandfather. "I.." But there was an unfettered strength to it as well, one that made Marco quiver with fear. "What is death, to the Nisell family?" Tempus opened his hand, causing the pillar of light to shatter and proved himself to be a real and physical. "This moment had been prepared for, exactly as I foretold. The reunion of all pendulum crystals has brought me back, to finalize my design.. a thousand years in the making." Looming white eyes gazed over the duelists. If he was blinded by age, his actions did not reflect that. "Your design?! You mean to say that all of this.. all of our pursuits.. all of the worlds you destroyed.. was just a part of your plan?" August stepped forward and tried to take back his pendulum crystal now that it was no longer putting out energy. "All of it was." Tempus clenched his open hand. "No!" August's crystal shot away from him embedded itself into Tempus' hand. "That is mine!"

"You know not what you speak of, my child." Tempus shook his head. "All of you, all of your blessings.. would not have been possible without me." The remaining crystals pulled themselves towards Tempus as well. "!?" And Uno's own crystal formed the crowning piece, it planted itself on the old mans forehead. "Have you forgotten, my son? This was given to you, to hold and to use in my absence. Yours was the original, the crystal all other pendulums were carved from." The one crystal to rule them all. It was no wonder that Uno could keep drawing from the powers of the other crystals. "You.. wanted this. You asked me." More and more Uno remembered his fathers final words. "You wanted me to keep going to new world after world, to reset time again and again. But you never told me why. Why?" Everything fit together and none of it made sense. His whole world was falling to pieces. "I will reveal all in due time, just know that it has all been worth your sacrifices. Now you can return to me, my children and we can be a family again."

"Ana?" To Uno's surprise, his sister obeyed Him without a second thought. "i.." She only hesitated when saw saw her little brother, and the pitiful look he gave. "i am sorry. i waited so long.. and now he's all i have left." She closed her eyes and joined Tempus. "F-father!" Marco followed her example and hurried over to the pair. "Amadeus..." Tempus regarded his other son with mixed expressions. "I know of your transgressions, my son. I know what fate you wished upon Fortuno." Marco immediately froze up. "Father, I was only.. he Was going to Ruin all you Strived for! I just wanted.. What you wanted!" He stammered out excuses and apologies. Yet as weak as they sounded, he seemed to placate his father. "You could not have disrupted my design. I anticipated it." Tempus gave him a warm smile. For a moment, Marco believed in that smile. "However, I know you will not grow from your mistake, unless you receive punishment." Tempus threw his hand into the air. "Father No!" Marco screamed as he was spirited away by a bolt of transparent flames.

"Ah!" Alice shrieked. "What have you done?" Adamant demanded an explanation. "He is not gone. He was merely banished to a space outside of time. Once he has reflected on his sins, he may join us again." Tempus lowered his hand. "What? Return him at once!" Angered, Silver activated her dueldisk. "There are simply too many." Tempus sighed and activated his own dueldisk. From all appearances this should have been the beginning of a duel. "Guh.."

Tempus'LP: 8000 Silver's LP: 0

Yet, it was over in an instant. "Wh..what the heck?" Eric blinked and Iria fell down unconscious. "He.. what just happened?" Uno could not explain it, nobody could follow this duel with their normal eyes. "He froze time around him and his opponent, defeating her in an instant from your perspective." But December still possessed the power of foresight. He could still see what took place inside frozen time, ahead of what his own eyes would see. "He can do this? Just what kind of man is he?" Adamant was astonished. Tempus' abilities seemingly transcended what every other pendulum user was capable of. "One unlike anything that the world has experienced before. I cannot.. read into his mind." Whether or not that was because of Tempus taking the crystal for himself, it did not change the reality that Tempus was a duelist beyond June's capabilities, beyond that of everyone. "We should fight him together!" August would not back down now, not when the enemy's true face stood before them. "Yeah, this is what we prepared for!" January shouted. They were ready.

"No."

"No?" The one thing to stop them, was their leader. "I can see his future, I have seen how he duels. He will be too strong if we duel him together. What must happen, happens between us." December started drawing his cards. "Prepare yourself, Tempus. Your madness has come to an end." Tempus too began to draw his cards. "I have been prepared. You will see the truth, at the end of the duel.. my son."

(To be Continued in Redux 015: The Man behind the Curtains)

 **New Cards used by December  
** D/D Savant Newton

-  
Trade In


	76. The Man Behind the Curtain

**Redux 15: The Man behind the Curtains**

Before them stood the man who bore responsibility for all crimes committed against time, against their world. "What are we in for?" December challenged him, the rest could only watch. "I don't know." Uno wished he could tell Eric what was about to happen. But he did not remember.. how his father dueled.

December's LP: 8000 Tempus' LP: 8000

"My turn is the first." The dimensional duelist inspected his hand and all potential futures. December knew what path to take. "I bind myself with the Gate! To me, D/D/D Oblivion King Abyss Ragnarok!" Of all choices, the Dark Contract with the Gate spell added the oblivion pendulum lord to Decembers hands. He placed Abyss Ragnarok (scale 5) in one pendulum zone. "Descend, D/D Savant Galilei!" Next, by activating the Galilei astronomer from his hand, December could recycle a Dark Contract on the field. The Gate spell returned to his hand while Galilei left it. "And descend, Doom King Armageddon!" December then activated Trade In to discard his other level 8 pendulum monster, and to draw two new cards. "I call upon your wisdom, D/D Savant Copernicus!" After that he normal summoned the solar systems cradle, Copernicus(4/0/0). And its effect discarded one D/D monster directly from the deck. "I send you to the depths as well, D/D Necro Slime." A slime-covered goatskull was moved to the graveyard. As it turned out, from there Necro Slime could fuse itself with one other D/D monster in the graveyard. "Combine, Necro Slime and Armageddon!" December merged the slime with the D/D/D lord and fusion summoned a blue wolf warior king(8/3000/2500). "The Dragonbane King Beowulf!"

"Abyss Ragnarok! Revive Galilei!" Once each turn, when a D/D monster was special summoned, an Abyss Ragnarok in the pendulum zone could special summon one D/D monster from the graveyard. However outgoing damage would be halved for the rest of the turn. "As I give my life.." Incoming damage remained the same and December's lifepoints dropped by a 1000 as another payment for Abyss Ragnarok's effect. The Savant Galilei(10/0/0) was revived in defense mode. "I call upon you, D/D Orthros!" And yet taking damage was the trigger for the summon effect of another pendulum monster in December's hand; D/D Orthros the bound two-headed wolf(4/600/1800). "Harmonize, Orthros and Copernicus!" Orthros was a tuner monster at that. It and Copernicus synchronized to summon a synchro monster with eight levels. "The Cursed King Siegfried!" The wolf and savant formed the pale swordsman in dark armor; the hexblood king Siegfried(8/2800/2200). "How many synchros, fusions and XYZs does this guy have?" Eric was sure this one was new. ".. one for each world he visited; a memento." Uno guessed. He was afraid to find out how many worlds those added up to.

December's LP: 7000

"Pendulum summon!" December continued his turn after he placed Leonidas the spartan Rebellion King (scale 3) in the other pendulum zone. "Copernicus, Orthros! Return!" The pendulum savant and pendulum tuner were summoned back from the extra deck. "And overlay into Caesar the Wave King!" By placing both monsters on top of each other, December could XYZ-summon the black armor lord of the ocean; Caesar(4/2400/1200). Finally a trap was placed face-down. "That was my turn, Tempus!" December announced the passing of turns, shortly before also he revealed his trap. It was called; Dark Contract with the Eternal Darkness. "I bind myself to the Eternal Darkness! As long as two D/D monsters exist in the pendulum zones, none of my cards can be targeted or destroyed by effects. And.. no monsters you control can be tributed, fused, synchronized or overlayed!" A veil of pitchblack fog fell over the duelists and the observers. "I can't see.." Alice and the others could not witness the duel anymore. But they all knew that December's field put his opponent in a precarious situation. Not many options were open for Tempus; no tribute summons and no fusion/synchro or xyz-monsters.

"An everlasting darkness that can swallow the light of the future."

"Does not exist." Tempus' voice pierced the shadows. "This power..." Adamant felt the raw energy emanating from this man in his bones. "father.." His turn started. Tempus dispelled the darkness with the crystal's glow, and placed two cards on the field. In his pendulum zones.. "He can use pendulums too!?" Eric gasped. That was the only thing that could break through Decembers lock. "I did not.." December was dumbstruck, this was a completely different strategy than the one he used against Silver. "I do not use the Pendulum.. I am the Pendulum. I am that which swings from yesterday to tomorrow." In his right zone he activated a dark dimensional sorcerer (scale 1) whose cloak contained the cosmos. On the left zone, a crimson time mage (scale 8) revealed itself. "Astrograph Sorcerer? Chronograph Sorcerer!? Uno.." Alice realized right away which cards these monsters looked like. "Space and Time are mine to command. Astrograph Sorcerer can destroy itself, Chronograph Sorcerer can destroy itself!" Tempus shattered both pendulum mages. "To give me Stargazer and Timegazer Magician, as monsters on my field.. or as pendulums!"

"Yahh!" Uno flinched as the two cards Tempus declared literally flew out of his deck. "First the crystals, now this?" The stargazer (scale 1) and timegazer (scale 8) were placed in the emptied pendulum zones, through the effect of the Astral and Chrono sorcerers. "My Son, have you forgotten? It was I who created this power, it was I who performed the first Pendulum Summon." Tempus took one monster from his hand and two from his extra deck. "And it is I who shall be the last. Pendulum SUMMON!" He pendulum summoned Astrograph Sorcerer(7/2500/2000), Chronograph Sorcerer(6/2000/1700) and a pale blue demon holding a skull-faced clock on his chest; a Time-Eater(6/1900/1700). "I created you. All your time, all your moments and memories; owe their existence to me. And I will take them back." He entered his battlephase. "Kings of the past should stay buried." The Astral sorcerer sliced D/D/D Ceasar the Wave Lord open with his dual temporal blade. The TimeEater meanwhile attacked and destroyed the defending D/D Savant Galilei.

December's LP: 6900

"You are not a creator! You destroy everything you see and all we owe you _is_ destruction!" Before Caesar died, December activated its effect. As the battle phase ended, Ceasar special summoned itself and all other D/D monsters that were destroyed as a result of battle this turn. Though the resummoning of the XYZ-Lord and Galilei would cost him lifepoints on the next turn. "The one who can see all, sees so little." Tempus let out a heavy chuckle, that barely sounded like normal laughter. He placed two trap cards down and ended his turn. "I have seen more than any man should, because of you. And not enough." December drew his card. "Leonidas, shield my life!" During his standby phase, he would take damage from the Dark Contract with Eternal Darkness and from Caesar's effect. But after taking one hit, further damage could be averted by destroying the Rebel Lord in his pendulum zone. After December let the Dark Contract's inflict 1000 of damage, Leonidas converted Caesar's 2000 points of damage into healing energy instead.

December's LP: 7900

"You do not know the beginning, you cannot know the ending. Tell me, what future do you think you have when I may take time itself away from your hands?" Tempus flipped his first trap card: Thunder of Ruler. "He's trying to steal his battle phase!?" The thunder trap would skip the players next battle phase if it was successfully activated during Decembers standby phase. "I know what you are trying to do!" December chained with the effect of the cursed King. "Siegfried, negate!" Once each turn Siegfried could negate the effects of a face-up spell or trap, even normal traps. "Knowing the future is not the same as being able to stop the future." Tempus waved his hand and flipped his second trap. "!?" It was a second Thunder of Ruler trap. "He had another one? Aw! Now he can't attack?" January moaned. "No. It's worse than that. He cannot use his turn at all." June finally realized the horrible nature of Tempus' dueling strategy. "What? Why?" Eric didn't follow. "Because of TimeEater. It skips the opponents next main phase, when it destroys a monster in battle." Adamant never thought he would see anyone use that machine, yet there it was.

"No main phase, no battle phase.. means he goes straight to the endphase." December did not have a choice; his turn was over and his enemy's turn was upon him. "Pendulum Summon. Blue Claw Magician." And the time lord used the star and timegazer to bring another pendulum magician to his field. It was a female druid(4/1800/0) in cyan-blue robes, wielding a large four-spiked shield. "The time and power you have was my gift to you. Yet, like everything else, it is ephemeral." The Pendulum sage spun his shield and cast an energy draining spell upon Decembers D/D/D monsters. Thousand of attackpoints were stolen from the Wave King Ceasar(1400/200), Cursed King Siegfried(1800/1200) and Dragonbane King Beowulf(2000/1500).

 _Blue Claw Magician, 4/1800/0 Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum  
_ _1[Once per turn: You can target 1 DARK spellcaster-type monster you control; apply this effect to that monster, then destroy this card.  
_ _● If it destroys an opponent's monster this turn, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the original ATK of that monster.]1  
_ _If this card is pendulum summoned, monsters your opponent controls lose 1000 ATK until the end of this turn._

" Tempus then activated a continuous spell, Terminal World, before he entered his battlephase. The TimeEater re-destroyed D.D Savant Galilei. The Blue Magician sent a shooting star into the Wave King to blow him to pieces. The Astrograph and Chronograph Sorcerers twisted the dimensions with their weapons to tear Beowulf and Siegfried apart. The only comfort here was that a destroyed Siegfried restored 1000 of December's lifepoints for each Dark Contract on the field. It almost nullified the 1100 points of battle damage.

December's LP: 7800

"Tch. I cannot believe this." August grunted. December was just being played with, Tempus did not even seem to take this seriously. "But he can still enter his battle phase, can't he? Even if he has no monsters?" TimeEater already 'ate' the first main phase. But Alice thought December could keep fighting if he managed to get a second main phase. "no, alice, he has no second main phase anymore." Anastasia shook her head. Because of Terminal World, neither duelist could enter their second main phase. "when father duels, the first turn is all you get." Tempus ended his turn and now it didn't even matter if December could move to his battle phase. Without main phases, a duelist could not summon anything. "..." Then there was the Eternal Darkness contract, which ticked away a thousand lifepoints each time he started his turn. And December could not get rid of it. "I.. end my turn."

December's LP: 6600

"Then, if that was all, the end will come. My son." Tempus set a trap card down and proceeded towards his battle phase. "No way!" January gasped. At this rate December was going to lose. "We can't just let it end this way." Adamant shouted as the first attacks rushed in. The Astrograph Sorcerer attacked directly. "..." December narrowed his eyes and braced for impact. The first hit pushed him back, erasing 2500 of his lifepoints. "Are you waiting?" Tempus inquired, while the Chronograph Sorcerer made the second attack with a sword pulled from another dimension. "Gh." December rolled back to evade the blade, though he still lost an another 2000 lifepoints. "I know you are not submitting, so show me what is hidden." The third attacker was the Comet magician. And that was also the breaking point for the dimensional duelist. "Juragedo!" He activated an effect from his hand. "To me!" During the battle step, he could special summon the longclawed mutant demon(4/1700/1300) from his hand in defense mode. And he would recover a 1000 lifepoints when it was summoned.

December's LP: 3100

"He made it!" Alice let out a cry of joy. "He did? Why didn't he do that to begin with?" Eric took December for a dead man right up until the end. "Because.. he wanted to break the cycle." Uno stated as he saw the Pendulum Sage pull his weapon back. Its attack was skipped, so that the TimeEater could kill Juragedo and cancel out another one of December's first main phases. "He couldn't." Tempus was too clever, he deliberately reserved the last attack for TimeEater to force as much damage against his opponent as possible. "December. Is this the best course?" June saw no hope. At best, December was delaying the inevitable. And with the Dark Contract of Eternal Darkness continuously chipping away at his lifeforce, he did not have a lof of turns left to begin with. "It is the only course. To do otherwise, would bring us damnation." Tempus' turn ended, December drew his next card. "There.. is always a chance." He let his trap card reduce his lifepoints, and skipped to the end of his main phase-less turn.

December's LP: 2100

"Chance. Fate. Destiny." Tempus drew his card. During his main phase he activated a continuous spell, Summon Breaker. "Those who utter such words, have already surrendered to a future of darkness." The next phase followed. "I do not surrender, Tempus. The centuries could not take my dream away from me; the dream that I would find you! And I have!" December dragged a card out of his hand and slammed it on his dueldisk. "I summon you, D/D/D Chaos King Apocalypse! Destroy my magic, my contracts!" Two spells or traps needed to be destroyed during the opponents turn, and the devil king(7/2700/2000) with long mechanical claws and a crystalline lower body could be special summoned from a players hand. December destroyed his Eternal Darkness contract and D/D/D Abyss Ragnarok. The natural light of the sun returned to the field of battle, bathing December in a golden glow. "I was nothing before you, Tempus. You made me! I am the only one who can unmake you!"

At last TimeEaters ceased its temporal carnage. Tempus' monsters could not destroys Chaos Apocalypse, and the second main phase did not exist. "My turn, my main phase!" At last he could activate cards from his hand, like the Dark Contract with the Gate. "To me, D/D Savant Kepler!" His continuous spell searched the deck for the astronomic pendulum (scale 10) and It was placed in the left pendulum zone. "To me, D/D Cerberus!" The three headed hellhound (scale 6) appeared on the other side. "Pendulum Summon!" Together they allowed December to release D/D/D Abyss Ragnarok(8/2200/3000) and D/D/D Leonidas(7/2600/1700) from the extra deck. And when the Oblivion King was special summoned, it could also special summon its own D/D/D monster from the the Cursed Blood King(8/2800/2200) was reborn. Yet in that time, Tempus revealed his own card. "His monsters!?" The trap, simply called Point Alfa, returned the Magicians and TimeEater to Tempus's hand.. in order to skip Decembers next battle phase.

 _Point Alfa, Normal Trap_  
 _Return all monsters you control to the hand. Skip your opponent's next battle phase.  
_

"Still you reject my judgment?" The duel would start all over again if December didn't change something permanently. "Be careful. If you summon one more time.." Adamant reminded the duelist that despite everything, Summon Breaker was still active. It would immediately fast forward a turn towards the endphase, if any player made their third summon of the turn. "I am aware. The time has come, for the twin dawns!" December took Abyss Ragnarok and Siegfried away from the field, overlaying them for a rank 8 XYZ-summon. "I call upon D/D/D Duo Dawn King Kali Yuga! In Defense mode!" The horned demon Kali Yuga(8/3500/3000), with robes of black, armor of purple and a bloodred collar, sat down in a throne that was erected for the dimensional judge. "All effects on the field are sealed for the rest of this turn!" Summon Breaker was negated as soon as Kali Yuga summoned itself. "And each turn, it may break all spells or traps on the field!" The great judge detached one XYZ-material to pass his verdict across the field. Decembers D/D pendulums, Terminal World, Summon Breaker, and the Gazer Magicians; these were the ones whose lives Kali Yuga claimed.

"Perhaps judgment may fall on me one day. But that is not this day, or any day soon to come. Time itself first needs judgment." Tempus activated a card from his hand. "Astrograph Sorcerer, return to me my gazer of time." The cosmic sorcerer(7/2500/2000) unexpectedly resummoned itself to the field, and searched the deck to add a second Timegazer Magician to Tempus' hand. "What? I thought he couldn't use effects anymore?" Eric complained... and Tempus heard him. "This monster's power originates from the hand when a card is destroyed, my child." Astrograph's summon and search effect avoided Kali Yuga's effect lockdown. "Do you believe yourself to be so far above man, that you cannot even see their hatred towards you?" December's anger could not go any higher, nor could his endphase be put off any longer. "It is the opposite, my son. I can see and feel all your resentment. But all of it.. was for a purpose." December placed the Chronograph Sorcerer in the pendulum zone.

"What does that mean!?" December responded with Kali Yuga's effect again; detaching its final XYZ-material to destroy the Chronomancer. It was either that or let Chronograph special summon a Timegazer that would nullify Kali Yuga's destructive powers anyway. "That all this destruction of time served a greater goal; weakening the dimensions.. testing the limits of time and its guardians." Tempus regaled as he continued the turn and placed Stargazer Magician back in his pendulum zone. "The guardians? You want to.. fight them?" August nearly choked. Not even he would consider such an impossible challenge. "It was attempted before. Do you remember, my children?" Tempus looked at his daughter and his son. "i.. do. we harnessed their power, uno and marco did." Anastasia nodded slowly, while Uno did not know how to react. "I knew I could trust in you, Anastasia. And you, Fortuno, you have changed a lot. But you have done well."

"I set the other pendulum.. Iris Magician." Stargazer's new partner was a magical swordsman (scale 8), in knight-like robes and hat. "!?" Its colors were red.. like that of the Odd-Eyes Pendulum dragon. "You developed your spirits well, Fortuno. My own spirits evolved alongside of you." Tempus performed a pendulum summon for Chronograph Sorcerer and the first Stargazer Magician(5/1200/2400) in the extra deck and for the Time Eater and Blue Claw Magician in his hand. The latter's effect immediately depowered all of December's monsters (Leonidas: 1600 atk, Chaos Apocalypse: 1700 atk, Kali Yuga: 2500 atk). "Our Magician, Iris Magician, may double the damage that one of my dark spellcasters can inflict." Iris Magician tapped Astrograph Sorcerer with his sword. "And then it dies." Iris scattered like snow in the wind. "Even its effect is like Odd-Eyes." Alice murmured. How much help did Uno unwittingly give his father? "It is over, my son." Tempus started the battle phase. "Return to me." Chronograph Magician attacked and destroyed Chaos Apocalypse. "Ngh." One more attack would end it all.

December's LP: 1800

"I will give you one last chance to surrender to me." He extended his hand towards his opponent. "Never." That was the only word December sent back to him. "A pity." Tempus looked disappointed and groaned. "I had hoped to spare us the pain. Alas.. " Astrograph Sorcerer summoned the forces of the cosmos and cast them down upon Leonidas. "Gwaaah!" The Rebellion King took 900 points of battle damage, twice. December fall at his Kings side; his consciousness zapped out of him.

December's LP: 0

"June, January, August, December, Fortuno. The same choice is yours." 'Father' stepped forward, looming over December's body. "Join me, and we can confront those who would force past, present and future on us.. We can break time itself." He spoke with tantalizing words, and an immense weight. "What.." It was difficult, to even talk back. "What about my friends?" But Uno found exactly what he wanted to say. "They are of no consequence, they cannot aid us. Your real family awaits." Tempus' answer was illuminating. "uno..." Anastasia could already see the doubts swirling in her brother's head. "please.. don't fight him." Uno's answer was obvious too. "I am sorry, 'dad' If that's the case, I am gonna have to say no. My friends are my family too! I will not abandon any of them!" He declared with pride.

"To defy your own father. You have forgotten all you have learned." Tempus raised his hand to the sky. "father.. no." He was not going to duel Uno. "You need to be disciplined as well, you and your friends." His hand came down. "Wat!? No!" Uno screamed, as the island was buried underneath the light of time and space...

(To be Continued in Redux 00101000000...)

 **New Cards used by December  
** D/D Necro Slime  
D/D Orthros  
D/D/D Chaos King Apocalypse

-  
D/D/D Cursed King Siegfried  
D/D/D Duo Dawn King Kali Yuga

-  
Dark Contract with the Eternal Darkness

 **Cards used by TEMPUS  
** Chronograph Sorcerer  
Astrograph Sorcerer  
Timegazer Magician  
Stargazer Magician  
Time Eater  
 _Blue Claw Magician_  
Iris Magician

-  
Terminal World  
Summon Breaker

-  
Thunder of Ruler  
 _Point Alfa_


	77. To Happy Endings

**Redux ...000000003: To Happy Endings**

It was not the same. "Fat..her?" When enough of the light subsided, Uno and all of his senses could take in the world once more. "..." His body could not remember Uno moving, he was still standing inside Marco's villa. But sight, scent, taste, sound; all of those were off. "Guys?" Was he alone? Fortunately or unfortunately.. he was not. "We're here!" Eric, Alice and Adamant were at his side. The light returned them to the same position too. "We are all that's here." Adamant quickly noted the absence of everyone else: The Travelers, Iria and her enforcers, Anastasia, Tempus. "Uno.. what happened? Did we.. move? Or did they?" Alice hoped that Uno understood more of their situation than they did. "I think.. Fath.. Tempus. He tried to banish us, like he banished Marco. But something went wrong, it did not feel the same." Uno was not sure what one could expect from Tempus' punishment, but it could not be this. "We definitely went somewhere.. not in space but in time."

But their trip did carry an extra passenger. "Uno. Look." On the ground rested a creepy blue ragdoll. "That's Martels puppet? How did that get here?" Eric approached it carefully, as if it could jump up and attack him at any moment. "Didn't January have it?" Alice noticed it was lying in the spot where the kid used to be. "And it contained a pendulum crystal. Perhaps January attempted to use its power to warp his team to safety? Could something like that have interfered with Tempus' own powers?" Adamant asked Uno. "I don't know, really." Uno wished he had the answers to all these questions, but he didn't. "I though He.. took them all. Why did he miss this one?" The purple crystal was still embedded in the puppet's eye. Could Tempus for some reason not lay a claim on this one? "Well hopefully we can use it to get back to our own time." Eric touched it again before picking it up. "Which is.. when exactly?"

"One way to find out." Uno quickly walked to the front porch to scan the horizon. "Oh.. Oh no.." Finally he knew why nothing felt normal. "Whoa!" Even the others could see it. The waves were perfectly still; the ocean was frozen.. in time. Time had stopped. "This is so weird.." Eric could put his foot on the water without getting it wet. It was as solid as stone. "Is this his punishment? Did he put inside a world where time does not move?" Adamant looked up to perhaps catch a sight that proved otherwise. "?!... Alice." What he saw made his tone turn graver instead. And he was too late to warn someone else. "Alice?" Uno turned around. She was the only one not talking. Because she had already seen this happen before. "It's" The words could not get out, only tears came down her face. "The end of time..." Not all of the world was at rest. High in the sky came the angels of destruction and guardians of time: The Qliphort. "AAAAAHHH!" Alice fell to pieces. "Don't come near me!" The nightmare was beginning all over again. "Alice!" As she collapsed into a quivering mess, Eric rushed to her side, but she would not hear him. "Uno? What the hell is going on? Why are they here? Why are we here?"

"I.. is this a vision? A memory?" Uno wondered to himself. "No. This place wouldn't exist in the past. This is my brothers home. That means.. we traveled as far into the future as we can go.. and this is the very last second." There was no future after this. This was truly the end. "Four years.. I never imagined that I would be a witness to this. The world selected for destruction was yours... I am sorry, Uno." It was as Adamant's prophecy foretold.. "Did the fusion guild, save our world?" Only those favored by god would keep their lives. Ichirou and Marie Celeste secured the divine cards. Was that enough? "Or did they merge both worlds, as Martel and Phoebe intended?" There was no way to tell, no way to be sure who would survive and who would not. "We should get the hell out of here!" Eric shouted. The Qliphort were getting closer. "No!" Alice yelled back. "We can't.. ! Tory, Stonewell, Amelia, Bishop, Everyone.. they're all going to die if.. If.." She did not want to lose anyone, not again. "But if we go back in time, we can stop this from ever happening! Right, Uno?"

"I don't think we can go back." They had seen how much it took for Marco to prepare a jump back to the past, and Uno did not have the time for that. In fact time did not exist at all anymore. "Even if we could, all we'd be doing is create a new timeline. Both worlds will be destroyed and a new one will be made." The people in it would look the same, but they would not be the same. "Maybe we can fight them then?" Eric suggested. "Fight them?" Uno paused. "Is it possible?" Adamant inquired. Even Alice gave Uno a hopeless look. "It was.. we tried it before." Uno remembered his fathers words, and he remembered fragments from his own life. "Marco, Anastasia, ... and me. We once tried to take down the guardians. We actually did, with.." Uno reached for his deck and took out two cards. "These."

"The dragon cards?" He held up Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon. "Yes. The four dragons of the apocalypse." Together with Starve Venom Fusion Dragon and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon they formed a quarter of destruction and creation. "I.. UNO made them.. and gave them to Dom. He made them special for his own purposes. But they were special before then, I could feel it every time I tried to summon one of them without earning the right for it." Uno clenched his open hand. "Each time we left a world behind, I took its stories with me. It was the same with these four. But they were the last spirits, created by me with every bit of magical energy I took from all the previous dimensions. Fusion, Synchro, XYZ and even Pendulum.. I kept it close and let it grow. Finally, one day I thought the spirits were strong enough. We thought we could use them to stop the Guardians.. to escape their control over time and rule it ourselves. We were wrong." Uno shook his head and put the cards away. "The four dragons destroyed but one Guardian. There were just too many. The others retaliated and. nearly destroyed us. Marco, Anastasia and me.. we had to run."

"That we when we decided to stop. That was why we decided to create Millennium. If we could not be the masters of time, we could at least use a little of their power to be the masters of our own world."

"Then it's hopeless." What Adamant took away from that, was that they had no chance against the Qliphort. "Aren't you going to judge me for what I have done?" Uno caused all of this, because of his own pride. "Even if I was the person for that, now is no longer the time. All I care about is what we can still do. Or is survival all that is left?" It was unlikely that they could run and hide from the Qliphort. "Huh? Did you say 'the tree?" Eric heard Alice mutter something, softly but strongly. "I.. the tree. I saw the tree in the garden. That's how I could run.. the last time. I don't want.. but.." She talked faster the closer the Guardians got. Some were already floating above the ocean, erasing the air and water. Nothingness remained in their wake. "Garden? You mean the royal garden?" Uno did not know any other garden she could be talking about. "!? Wait.. is this about?" And then the context became clear, once he recalled one of her stories. "The sisters!" She met the Prophecy sisters at the garden, underneath the tree. If that had any value at all, they needed to go there.

"Uno!" Eric found the jewel eye of Martels doll to be glowing in bright violet. "It still has power!? Was it something I did or said?" There was always some level of consciousness to these pendulum crystals. Either way Uno would not look down on this stroke of luck. "Give it to me, quickly!" He took the puppet from Eric and "Please.. take us.." Before the full plea left his tongue, the light exploded.. "Ah! Ahaha!" They were in the royal garden, the crystal transported all four of them. "It's just as bad here." The Qliphort were tearing down the city, the walls, the tower. But the tree still stood intact, untouched by time. "You.. you did it." Hope returned to Alice's face. "Somehow. But I didn't come here just to find shelter." Uno placed his hand on the puppet's eye. "Sisters! I know you can probably hear or see me! Please. I ask for your help, your guidance! I need you one more time! If you know everything, then you also know how we can stop this! How we can save.."

"Uno! Look out!" Adamant sensed a sudden sharp wind from the front. "!" Uno stepped aside in the nick of time, as a vertical wave sliced through the field. "The tree!" The tree was cut in half and set a ablaze. The entire garden caught fire, or what was left of it. "Who?" It was not a guardian that caused this, but a person.. a woman. "Mar.. Margot.." The third sister, she stood opposite of Uno with her head turned to the ground. "Margot? This is one of them?" Eric and Adamant could finally meet with a Prophecy Sister. "You can see her too?" This was not a dream. The one hidden in the shadows of Cloe and Veronica, she was here.. alone The Qliphort were aware of her presence as well. And they backed away. "Are they.. afraid of her?" Alice was horrified, to think that even such destructive machines could have such instincts. "She is the lady of the future. Everyone fears the future." Right now, it made as much sense as everything else Adamant had witnessed. "Margot." Uno swallowed the lump in his throat. "Why.. did you come?"

She gave no words, her motions left no sound. Silently the woman moved her head up, revealing the deep black irises behind her dark hair. "..." They might as well have been staring into the abyss. Did their words even reach her? "Margot. You know what I want. Can you give it to us?" Uno repeated his request. "She wants.. us to fight her for it." Adamant stated. "Huh? How can you tell?" Eric didn't see a sign of a challenge. Not until the woman extended her hands. "What the.." The book she carried started hovering in front of her, its pages torn out. The pages contained images of cards on one side and pure darkness on the other, she she pulled five of them. Her book was her deck. "She wants a duel?" Uno did not see that coming. "She has the heart of a duelist, in spite of everything. I suggest we accept her offering." In this moment and this limbo, the Guardians were not active. Margot was giving them the time, to fight for this world. "Then..."

Eric's LP: 8000 Margot's LP: 8000

"Let me do it!" Eric activated his dueldisk. "Let me try and see what she's made off. So you can learn from my mistakes!" Eric figured he might as well be good for something. "Eric.. no.." But Alice did not want him to sacrifice himself just for that. "I agree."

Adamant's LP: 8000

"We should all be standing here." Adamant took it one step further and joined the duel. "A tagteam duel?" Eric gasped. "No. While we can use each others cards if we duel as a team. Our lifepoints would be tied as well. In the end only one of us has to stop her." Adamant did not want to under-estimate this kind of opponent. "Then.. I will duel too!"

Alice's LP: 8000

Alice switched her dueldisk on. "Alice? You don't.." Eric figured she would have been too scared for this. "You think I will let you do this, without me? I don't want to run anymore!" She drew five cards. "Well said."

Uno's LP: 8000

Uno joined in last. "If Four against one is as good as they could do right now, I am glad it is with the three of you." It was too late to go back now, their lifepoints were set. Margot would take one turn for each of theirs, and she got the first turn. _"But what will she use?"_ Four of those pages floated down vertically before her feet, as if they were set like traps and spells. The fifth page was revealed, like a face-up spell. It was a field spell. "Ah.." Sunlight streamed through while clouds rose. A golden gate separated her from her opponents. Those were the cards she used in her first turn. "Heavens Gate?" This field spell was certainly no card that existed on earth.

 _Heavens Gate, Field Spell_  
 _You can only activate this card at the start of your Main Phase 1. You cannot summon or set monsters while you control this card._  
 _Neither player can conduct their Battle phase. Cards on the field, other than 'Heavens Gate' cannot be destroyed or targeted by card effect(s)._

"You know, I am almost thinking you are making fun of me!" Eric drew his sixth card and carefully studied his hand and her field. "Well.. this wont be a walk in the park anyway. But I gotta try! I activate The Grass is Greener!" A green wave moved across the void, stretching from Eric's dueldisk to the book of infinity. "This spell will discard cards from my deck until it has just as many cards as your deck, Margot!" He started throwing away cards. Normally a duelist would only have forty cards in their deck. However.. "Oh! That's good!" Alice knew Eric could decide which cards to stop using to cut his decksize down from the upper limit of sixty cards. That indecision finally payed off now, as The Grass is Greener discarded 19 cards from his deck. "Hmm. Ten... Not enough yet." Eric was not satisfied with the amount of discarded Infernoids, so he played another spell. "Go, Reasoning! Margot, you have to pick a number for a monsters level! While I'll start excavating my deck until I draw something that can be normal summoned!"

"Huh?" Though Margot was required to respond, she did so nonverbally. She held up one of her long fingers, to make clear that she chose the first level. "Thought I could get you to talk. Meh." Eric started drawing anyway. His deck gave him a few spells, traps and unsummonable Infernoids. And then Eric revealed Infernoid Decatron. "Oh come on!" It was a level 1 monster, the one level Reasoning would not summon. "She called it." Adamant was amazed. "So she can see the future?" Alice shuddered. "Or it was a lucky guess." Uno counter-suggested. " _Any_ way!" Decatron was not necessary. Eric's graveyard housed fourteen Infernoids; at least one of each type. It was time to play ball. "I can banish three Infernoids, Decatron, Antra and Pirmais, from the graveyard to special summon Infernoid Nehemoth from the graveyard!" And the first demon to raise from hell was his mightiest unfused Infernoid, Onuncu(10/3000/3000) the serpent king. Only, even before its summoning process could be completed, Margot activated a trap card. "What?" The Reaper of Cards himself appeared on the heavenly field, holding a long list of names in his one claw.

A new name was written on the list: Infernoid Onuncu. "You.. you declared his name?" Once Onuncu ended up on the field, he was cut down by the reaper. With its scythe, a lethal countdown was placed above the Infernoids head. It would die within the turn. "Hmph. I think you got the wrong one, missy!" Sure Eric could not negate her effects now, with Onuncu's powers sealed. But.. "I activate Void Imagination!" A corrupted lifegiving tree grew up from the depths, breaking the clouds around. "All my Infernoids will have a level of one! I can summon as many as I want now!" The level of Onuncu(1/3000/3000) dropped. "I banish three more Infernoids and special summon Lilith from the graveyard!" Harmadik, Patrulea and Piaty were removed from their graves. Infernoid Devyaty(9/2900/2900) the female serpent queen rose up to roar at the heavens. "Devyaty destroys all spells and traps, except for void cards!" The roar grew into a storm, with blue flames and bolts that were strong enough to topple the pearly gates. Margot's field spell cracked down and crumbled.

 _Reapers List, Continuous Trap_  
 _Once per turn, during your opponents turn, you can declare 1 card name._  
 _Card(s) on the field with that name cannot attack, activate their effect, and are sent to the graveyard during this turn's endphase._

"Alright, Eric! We can hit her now!" Heavens Gate's protection still shielded all of Margot's other cards, but at least they could conduct their battles once more. "Hitting her sounds like a good plan, Uno!" Eric banished four more Infernoids (Sjette, Attondel, Onuncu, Devyaty) to special summon a second Infernoid Attondel(8/2800/0) and Infernoid Seitsemas(7/2600/0) from his graveyard. "I'll also bring you out; Gren Maju Da Eiza!" The crimson worm devil(3/0/0) slithered in between the hellish ones. For each banished monster, Gren Maju(4000/4000) gained 400 and defense points. "Here goes nothing! My demons attack!" Even if Void Imagination halved the damage output of Infernoids and even if Reapers List prevented Onuncu's attacks; Eric could take away 8150 of her lifepoints with just four attacks. He'd be happy to even get in one hit. Unfortunately.. that was up to fate. "Eric, look out!" Before Eric could declare an attack, Margot revealed her second continuous trap. "World Reincarnation?"

 _World Reincarnation, Continuous Trap_  
 _Once per turn, during either players turn, if a face-up field spell you control was removed from the field this turn and you control no field spell cards;_  
 _You can select 1 field spell card from your hand, deck or graveyard and activate it._

"What is.." The grounds around them seemed to shift after Margot activated a spell from her deck. "That trap changed the field.." Gone was the garden and the palace. Clouds and mist turned to a crimson shade as if they were gorged with blood. Eyes and mouths appeared in the sky, belonging to no face or man. A spiked mountain emerged, and the lady of the future waited at the top in front of a black citadel. Heavens Gate was gone, this was the Dark Sanctuary. "Is this supposed to scare me?" Eric declared his next attack anyway, sending Gren Maju da Eiza to rush towards Margot. "Eric, wait! This card can punish your attacks!" Adamant yelled. The time for warnings had passed however. "Punish?" Erics opponent moved a coin with her finger, tossing it up and letting it spin down. It landed on heads. "!?" Immediately a wailing ghost exited the body of Gren Maju, freezing the red demon. "Guah!" The ghostly energy phased through Erics body at the same time, causing him to cough up a storm. "What the hell was that?" He took damage instead of her?

Eric's LP: 6000

"Dark Sanctuary. If a player is attacked, the user will roll a coin. If it lands on heads, the attack is negated and damage is inflicted equal to half of the power of the attacking monster." Adamant repeated what his own dueldisk was telling him. "What? So she got lucky..." Eric wiped his chin. "Ba'al!" He declared his second direct attack. "She can't be lucky all the.." Margot responded with another coin toss, which... landed on heads again. "No way!" Infernoid Seitsemas halted its attack, and expelled more undead energy from his body which struck Eric. "Gah!" Half of 2600 attackpoints were taken from him. "Again?"

Eric's LP: 4700

"If she can see the future, she can twist the outcome of a probability as much as she likes." Uno shivered. It was like fighting fate itself. "Eric. Please stop attacking. At this rate..." Alice imagined Dark Sanctuary would protect Margot no matter how many times Eric attacked. "Tch. Is this all I get to do? Damn it!" Eric placed a trap card down. "No! Before I end my turn.." He removed Void Imagination from his field. "I use my spells final effect to fuse Infernoids!" Eric fused an Infernoid Piaty in his hand with Seitsemas, Attondel, Devyaty and Onuncu on his field. "And I fusion summon Infernoid Tierra in defense mode!" All mutated into the one, the ultimate dragon(11/3400/3600) from hell. Because it was built from five fusion materials, each player would have to discard three cards from their decks and extra decks. (Eric: Skill Prisoner, Fiendish Rhino Warrior, Monster Gate. Adamant: Raidraptor - Tribute Lanius, Swallows Nest, Raidraptor - Booster Strix. Alice: Nekroz of Catastor, Nekroz Cycle, Ghost of a Grudge. Uno: Nobledragon Magician, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Performapal Revival) "Maybe this will help you guys a little. I.."

"If she can see the future, she can twist the outcome of a probability as much as she likes." Uno felt it was like fighting fate itself. "Eric. Don't attack anymore. At this rate..." Alice imagined Dark Sanctuary would protect Margot no matter how many times Eric attacked. "Tch. Is this all I get to do? Damn it!" Eric placed a trap card down. "No! Before I end my turn.." He removed Void Imagination from his field. "I use my spells final effect to fuse Infernoids!" Eric fused an Infernoid Piaty in his hand with Seitsemas, Attondel, Devyaty and Onuncu on his field. "And I fusion summon Infernoid Tierra in defense mode!" All mutated into the one, the ultimate dragon(11/3400/3600) from hell. Because it was built from five fusion materials, each player would have to discard three cards from their decks and extra decks. (Eric: Skill Prisoner, Fiendish Rhino Warrior, Monster Gate. Adamant: Raidraptor - Tribute Lanius, Swallows Nest, Raidraptor - Booster Strix. Alice: Nekroz of Catastor, Nekroz Cycle, Ghost of a Grudge. Uno: Nobledragon Magician, Performapal Skullcrobat Joker, Performapal Revival) "Maybe this will help you guys a little. I.."

But as he entered the endphase, the enemy revealed one more continuous trap: Destiny Board. "Oh!" This card did not need an introduction, everyone knew it. "A countdown.." Uno shivered. An ouija board loomed in the air, where a demonic hand moved the planchette across several letters. The first letter spelled out was F, and now it moved to the next. "Spirit Messages." Each endphase the Destiny Board would activate a Spirit Message spell. In this turn it activated Spirit Message "I". "If she gets three more Spirit Messages, it will spell out FINAL and she wins automatically." Even if they still had lifepoints, they would lose. "But its not a spell.." The Spirit Message card was not activated, it(1/0/0) was summoned. "It's Dark Sanctuary. That field spell has another power." As long as Dark Sanctuary was on the field, Spirit Messages activated by Destiny Board could be summoned to monster zones as if they were normal monsters. "Dark Sanctuary makes them immune to attacks or effects as well. So the only way to stop her, is to destroy the Board... before our time is up." Adamant shook his head. "Unless we defeat her in three turns, she will let the world be destroyed.. and all those in it."

(To be Continued in Redux 02: If Every Day was Your Last)

 **New Cards used by Eric Stonewell**  
The Grass looks Greener

 **Cards used by Margot**  
 _Heavens Gate_  
Dark Sanctuary  
Spirit Message "I"

-  
 _Reapers List_  
 _World Reincarnation_  
Destiny Board


	78. If Every Day was Your Last

**Redux 02: if Every Day was Your Last**

Margot's LP: 8000

Eric's LP: 4700 Adamant's LP: 8000 Alice's LP: 8000 Uno's LP: 8000

The lady of the future and the four visitors from the present now passed; they would duel each other in one sequence. "Is she not even going to attack us?" Margot's second turn came and went. One trap was set and that was all. "She does not have too." Destiny Board would give her victory in three turns. Dark Sanctuary was only on the field to protect the Spirit Messages and to discourage direct attacks. "Do not worry. I have a plan too. The future hurts the least, when you prepare for every eventuality." Adamant took the turn afterwards, reviewing his hand. "These two first." He normal summoned his Raidraptor Vanishing Lanius(4/1300/1600) and used its effect to special summon a Raidaptor Necro Vulture; the purple steel-winged vulture(4/1000/1600). A spell followed. "I activate Cattle Call and send Vanishing Lanius to the graveyard." Cattle Call tributed the winged beast, which allowed it to then special summon a XYZ-monster of the same type. "Revolution Falcon, appear!" The napalm warbird(6/2000/3000) was summoned instantly. Unfortunately a monster summoned by Cattle Call could not use its powers and would die during the endphase. For that reason.. "Rank-Up-Magic: Skip Force!" ..Adamant would evolve it twice.

"Wait..." But Uno saw Margot's hand move. The Reaper of the cards was writing a new name on his list. "Oh no." Even before the Rank-Up-Spell resolved, Reapers List declared the name of to-be-summoned rank 8 XYZ-monster: Raidraptor - Satellite Cannon Falcon. "Now it can't destroy her cards!" Like Erics Infernoid before, Satellite Cannon Falcon(8/3000/3000) was drained of all its effects and attacks. "Of course you would have to do so. If not, my XYZ-monster would have destroyed your spells and traps upon arrival. The Destiny Board has one weakness, itself!" The Spirit Messages were shielded from all effects, except those of Destiny Board. Destroying the board would destroy the message as well. "But even if I cannot remove your traps and your field spell. There are ways to get around it. I activate Necro Vulture's effect!" The Vulture could tribute one Raidraptor, to reclaim a Rank-Up card. "It tributes itself, and Skip Force returns!" Adamant took the double-up spell and activated it right away. "Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon!"

"Whoa!? Rank ten?" Before Uno and Erics eyes; Satellite Cannon Falcon transformed through dazzling flames. "Awesome!" This was their first viewing of this golden raptor(10/3500/3500). "That's right! Ultimate Falcon can't be touched by effects either!" Alice cheered. None of Margot's cards would hinder its attacks. "Indeed. And for the rest of the turn, it can seal effects as well!" Adamant detached one material from the Ultimate Falcon, blocking the effect activations of Dark Sanctuary and the like. However, Margot silently chained two cards to the Falcon's effect, before it could resolve. "What?" One was called Spirit Message "?". It was a spell that permanently shielded Destiny Board from other effects. The other was called: Destiny's Twine.

 _Spirit Message ?, Quickplay Spell_  
 _Target 1 'Destiny Board' you control. While it is face-up on the field, it cannot be affected by your opponent's card effects._

 _Destiny Twine, Continuous Trap_  
 _Declare a multiple of 1000._  
 _During this turn, whenever you take more damage than the declared amount: your opponent loses lifepoints equal to the declared amount._

The first trap formed a thin thread of light that coursed through every duelists. It ultimately unraveled around Margot, while the looping patterns displayed a number. "3000?" That was the amount Destiny's Twine declared his turn. "So if you attack her now, you will do 3500 points of damage.. and we all take 3000?" That was what Uno took from this. "Eric would.." One of them would not last long like this. "Yeah so? Dont stop for me! I am not affraid of any old future!" Eric fully understood and insisted anyway. "Eric?!" Alice and the others were shocked. But Adamant quickly adjusted. "Very well." He did not know if he could get another chance to reach this woman. "Direct attack!" Ultimate Falcon launched itself into the sky and attacked from above, avoiding the curse of the Dark Sanctuary. The sister of time on her bloodred mountain was cast in a divine light. "Here it comes!" True to its text, the twine of fate absorbed the damage and ran a pulse through all four duelists. "Gah!""Ngh."Eeh!" From Eric to Uno, they all lost 3000 lifepoints.

Margot's LP: 4500

Eric's LP: 1700 Adamant's LP: 5000 Alice's LP: 8000 Uno's LP: 8000

"She is taking no chances." Whether it was attacks or effect damage, Margot would punish them each time they tried to hurt her. "Either we die by our own actions, or by destiny's message." Adamant could not even delay the deadline with Ultimate Falcon. After he placed one card in his backrow, Destiny Board activated the third letter; Spirit Message N. Two of their turns remained. "Yeah, all she has to do is wait." Uno noted that all of Margot's cards were passive. In this turn too, she did not take an action against her opponents; opting to add another trap to her own spell/trap zone. Nobody could tell what she was thinking, behind those pools of darkness in her eyes. "If we can't change what is supposed to happen.." The next turn fell on Alice; Margot let hers end. "Does that mean, she already knows we're going to lose?"

"Who says this is supposed to happen? Just because we know the future, does not mean it is set in stone." Uno claimed. "I guess, but.. we cannot see it. What if she can stop me with her trap?" Just one unknown card could destroy her entire strategy. "Nobody can be ready for everything, Alice. Just do what you always tell me, live in the moment!" Eric retorted. "I guess, I did say that.. My turn." Two turns ago, Eric's Infernoid Tierra discarded her Nekroz Cycle. "If I do this.." Alice activated Nekroz Cycle, banishing it and a Nekroz Catastor card from her graveyard. That allowed her to pick up Nekroz Kaleidoscope from the deck.. and shuffler her deck. "And use this; I ritual summon Clausolas and Gungnir from my hand!" Nekroz of Kaleidoscope sacrificed the level 10 Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo from her extra deck. "Whoa. You had that card too?" Eric gasped. That was Emily's ultimate synchro monster. "Not the same. Just something to remember her with." As a result, Nekroz of Clausolas(3/1200/2300) and Nekroz of Gungnir(7/2500/1700) were successfully ritual summoned.

Margot waited for this. The Reapers List trap added another name to the scroll; Nekroz of Gungnir. "I knew it."The ice dragon warrior's body grew pale, and its powers and effects were sealed. "What I wanted was, to at least take out one of her cards. I could maybe even take some of her lifepoints away." Gungnir could destroy cards whether they were spells, traps or monsters. "Alice, any damage at this point will help. Trust me." Uno talked like he was devising a plan. "Okay.. But it wont be much.." Alice activated her quickplay spell, Forbidden Lance. It targeted Clausolas and took away 800 of his(400/1300) attackpoints. But in return it gained an immunity to spell and trap cards. "Clausolas will attack directly!" The little nekroz warrior tossed a quick ice blast at Margot, merely freezing her left arm. She broke the ice with a simple shrug. "That is.." If only Gungnir could have attacked, then she would have done more damage.

Margot's LP: 4100

"No! That's not it!" Alice activated another spell, One Day of Peace. "If I dont know what's going to happen, anything can happen!" Each player would draw one card, while all damage was reduced to nothing for the next two turns. Alice would gamble everything on whatever card she shuffled to the top of her deck. "I draw.." She pulled the next card. _"Nekroz of Trishula!?"_ It was the third of the three dragons. "Eric. Can you help me? I need your trap, the one with the gnomes." Proper tributes were in demand. She normal summoned a Clear Kuriboh(1/300/200) to the field "Sure?" Eric activated one of his graveyard's many cards: Misschief of the Gnomes. It reduced the levels of all monsters in each players hand by 1. "Thank you.. I activate Nekroz Mirror and summon Trishula!" Clear Kuriboh and Nekroz of gungnir were cast into the mirror as the tributes for the level-reduced Nekroz swordsman. Nekroz of Trishula(8/2700/2000) flew into the darkness of the duel field and raised his blade. "Trishula can banish one card on the field, in the hand and in the graveyard!" Thrice did the sword swing down. Trishula's effect banished the card Margot drew with One Day of Peace, the Heavens Gate in her graveyard, and.. the Reapers List. "You got her!? Wait. Wouldn't it have been better to take down something else?"

"She chose the best card. The Twine can be circumvented and World Reincarnation would simply have replaced the Sanctuary." Adamant was plenty pleased. Despite Margot's many walls, Alice managed to leave a permanent mark. "I just did not think it would work. Maybe I was.. lucky?" Alice wondered if shuffling the decks really did help. "I uh.. end my turn now." Destiny Board placed the Spirit Message "A" in the third monster zone. "Maybe Luck is the key factor. How about it, Margot? You can see the future, but you can't change your deck along the way!" Unlike December, this duelist was just following one line. She could manipulate chance, but not rules. Still, the eldest uttered no word. Rather, she activated a continuous spell that further enhanced her defenses. "Souls for the Soulless?" Wailing specters rose from the sanctuary, floating into Margot's traps and spells. Their cries sounded like the souls of the dead, trapped inside the inanimate.

 _Souls for the Soulless, Continuous Spell_  
 _Spell and trap cards you control cannot be affected by card effects that affect spells or traps, except "Souls for the Soulless"._  
 _You can control only 1 "Souls for the Soulless"._

".. My turn then." Regardless, this was their last chance. "Uno.." It was not going to come easy. "I see it Eric." Destiny's Twine was reactivated; declaring a sum of 1000 this time. "That low?" Alice counted the life that remained. Eric would not survive two attacks. "..It can still work. I just need a little more damage." Uno's final act required multiple attacks. "I got ya covered, Uno! You can thank Alice too! Its because of her spell that I drew this card!" Eric activated a monster card from his hand. "I will use Firecracker! If I discard this demon, you take 1000 points of damage!" A blue imp fluttered through the dark skies and dropped a lit bomb down on the eldest sister. "It worked?" Alice gasped as the to the effect went off perfectly. One fourth of the enemy's lifepoints were blown to pieces. "Ha! Your Chaintrap cant hit me back if I you lose exactly one thousand lifepoints!" Eric bragged, even as his opponent showed no reaction to the close-proximity blast. "Great work, Eric! That was the missing link!"

Margot's LP: 3100

"Strap yourselves in. The fun is about to begin!" Uno activated a spell card; Odd-Eyes Fusion. "I summon Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon!" Since Margot controlled more than two monsters, and Uno controlled none; Odd-Eyes Fusion could use materials from his extra deck. Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon the pendulum monster fused with another Odd-Eyes, Meteorburst Dragon. The two paired up to form Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon(7/2500/2000). "Fusions I mastered on my own. I am still not sure how.. I thought fusions were your specialty." Cloe used XYZ, Veronica used Synchro. Margot was breaking the mold. "Your sisters were more about testing me, but you feel different. Maybe I need to show you what I learned from them. But to do that, I have to start as I always do!" Uno activated the spell card, Pendulum Call. "I discard a card, and take two Magicians from my deck!" Uno threw away a monster to obtain Xiangsheng Magician (scale 8) and Dragoncalling Magician (scale 2). He placed both in their proper pendulum zones and.. "Go, Pendulum! Summon!"

Three streams of light flew in from the portal above. "Performapal Extra Slinger! Performapal Swincobra! Odd-Eyes Saber Dragon!" The slingshooting rascal(3/800/1100), the playground cobra(4/200/1800) and the upgraded blade-armored Odd-Eyes(7/2800/2000) all appeared before their caster. "You might wonder what this ragtag of characters can do! Well!" Uno pulled a card from his graveyard. "Firstly, since I control an Odd-Eyes monster I get to special summon Nobledragon Magician!" The tuner dragon Magician(3/700/1400) revived itself by taking three level stars from Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon(4/2500/2000). "Now, a synchro summon!" Nobledragon Magician could only be used for dragon synchros, so Uno tuned it with Swincobra. "I bet you didn't think I would have two of these, did ya?! Come out, Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon!" The crimson space dragon(7/2500/2000) broke through the clouds of eyes and blood to brighten up Uno's field.

"Meteorburst, put Dragoncaller Magician on the stage!" The synchro dragons effect moved one of the pendulum mages, the battlewizard(7/2400/1000) in red bandages and darkblue armor, to an open monster zone. "Now for act two! XYZ-summons!" Uno put the Dragoncaller underneath the Saber Dragon. "Rank 7! I XYZ-summon Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon!" The crystal dragon(7/2800/2500) of absolute zero attached itself to the two level 7 XYZ-materials and gained a solid from. "Fire and ice, pretty visual right? But even the little guys have a role here!" Uno activated the effect of Extra Slinger. "My Performapal can destroy one of my pendulums, and banish another in the extra deck, to inflict 300 points of damage to my opponent!" The Slinger loaded both Swincobra from the extra deck and Xiangsheng Magician from the field. He fired a singular shot that bounced off of Margot's shoulder.

Margot's LP: 2800

"Five times.." Uno said to himself. "Now! Part three! This is where Veronica comes in!" Uno put Extra Slinger together with Meteorburst Dragon. "The synchro summon without a tuner." The others knew what these ingredients were for. One pendulum summoned pendulum monster and one synchro monster; those were the materials of. "Nirvana High Paladin!" The heavenly white knight(10/3300/2500) of infinity and eternity. "Margot. If you are from the future, then consider me an agent of the past! This future that I saw, that you intend to solidify, I am going to break it with my own power!" Nirvana High Paladin activated its effect, and reversed the flow of time with his blade. "I take one card from my graveyard, Performapal Skullcrobat Joker!" The card that Infernoid Tierra discarded returned to Uno's hand. "Your turn, Joker!" Uno normal summoned the Joker(4/1800/100) and used its effect to take Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon from his deck. "Now.. did you pay attention to what card I discarded for Pendulum CallI? You are about to see what that was. I activate Odd-Eyes Advent!"

"What?" Odd-Eyes Advent was a spell card. "Is that.." A ritual spell card... "Uno, you have a ritual monster too?" Odd-Eyes Advent ritual summoned a dragon from his graveyard by sacrificing Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon from his hand. "Yes Eric, Adamant, Alice... I have one now. I should have made him sooner, rituals are just as important as the other families.. right Alice?" A cosmic dragon(7/2800/2000), with scales of black spacerock and chains of silver, emerged from the altar of the Advent. "Say hello to Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon!" Instantly, the dragon dismissed Souls for the Soulless. "Gravity Dragon can return my opponents spells or traps to their hand!" The rest of Margot's cards were unfortunately still unaffected. "What else can it do?" But Uno was not smiling for nothing. "I am glad you asked, Alice. See.. each time my opponents want to activate an effect: Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon will make them pay 500 lifepoints first!"

"Like this! XYZ! Fusion! Synchro! Ritual! Pendulum! I brought you the best of all worlds.. and now Iiiiiits Battle time!" Uno swung his arm forward. "Alice. If the worst happens, stand by with Nekroz of Clausolas. But dont use it yet." Alice nodded. "Good! Now Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon. Attack!" The ice XYZ-dragon made the second strike, firing frozen spikes. "There!" The Dark Sanctuary countered the attack, shattering the ice it and sending wrathful spirits inside the Dragon. To do so, Margot was forced to surrender 500 lifepoints to Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon. "You have to negate my attacks, because if you don't you will lose all your lifepoints at once! The Destiny Twine cant help you there!" Chilling energy escaped the monsters body, carrying half of its 2800 attackpoints as damage, and passed through Uno's chest. "Raahhh.. that's what that feels like?"

Uno's LP: 3600 Margot's LP: 2300

"Oh! I get it!" Eric cried out. "Yep. This is the only thing that would work. We can't touch her lifepoints without getting hurt, but she can. And we're not even half done yet! Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon!" Next came the fused beast of the winds. It sent a green vortex into Margot's domain. Once more Margot gave 500 lifepoints to the ritual dragon, and Dark Sanctuary negated the attack of the fusion dragon. The sanctuary ghost left Odd-Eyes Vortex's body and hurled itself into Uno. "Hngh!" The duelist almost lost his balance. "Again! With you my Performapal!" The Skullcrobat Joker tried his own luck. This time too, the dark sister blocked the attack and gave up even more life. The Performapal fired back on his own master, with half of his attackpower. "Oof!" Uno braced himself this time and kept his footing. "I can't believe this is working!" Eric cried out. "It's the only thing that would work. We can't touch her lifepoints without getting hurt, but she can."

Uno's LP: 1450 Margot's LP: 1300

"And even if you cannot defeat her, you can force her to into a state of powerlessness." Margot would have some lifepoints at the end of all of this, but not enough to satisfy Gravity Dragon with. She would lose the right to activate any cards, including Destiny Board. "Yeah! I'll save the final blow for my newest performer. So, for the fourth turn.. Nirvana High Paladin attacks!" The pendulum knight powered his blade and cut a path through time and space, sending it towards Margot. "?" As expected, Margot reacted. She paid another 500 lifepoints to reactivate her field spell... and she paid 500 lifepoints to activate her face-down counter trap.

Margot's LP: 300

 _Butterfly Effect, Counter Trap_  
 _Activate only when your lifepoints are lower than 1000.  
Toss a coin three times and if the result is tails each time: both players lifepoints become the turn player's lifepoints._

"Wh.." Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon could not chain to counter traps. "What... kind of effect is that?" The dark sister tossed her coin again and again, and received the tails side each time. As sudden as a heartattack, the trap seized all their lifepoints, bringing each player down to the level of Uno. Or bringing them up in Margot's case. "If she cannot save her future, she changes it altogether?"

Margot's LP: 1450

Eric's LP: 1450 Adamant's LP: 1450 Alice's LP: 1450 Uno's LP: 1450

"No! I should have attacked with Gravity Dragon first!" Uno cursed. "Uno! Be careful!" And now Alice was forced to pay even more, because Dark Sanctuary infested the Nirvana High Paladin with its effect. She activated the effect of Nekroz of Clausolas, to target his monster summoned from the extra deck. "I'll save you!" The target was Nirvana High Paladin. His(0/2500) attackpoints and effects were sealed. Dark Sanctuary could not reflect any attackpoints as effect damage under these conditions. "Ugh. Thank you Alice. But now.." With Margot back at 1450 lifepoints, it would take two attacks to neutralize her. "You knew I would do this, you knew I would attack last with my ritual monster!" Frustrated, he declared his final attack without theatrics. Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon hurled a black matter blast towards his enemy. It was immediately absorbed and reflected by Dark Sanctuary. Margot lost 500 lifepoints, Uno lost half of 2800 attackpoints.

Alice's LP: 950 Uno's LP: 50 Margot's LP: 950

"Every time. Everything goes wrong because of me! The guardians, the union.. the resets! I thought I could handle it, but I cant!" Uno raved. He thought he could be different from Fortuno, but in the end his past was always there. "Don't give up, Uno! There has to be a way. There always is!" That Alice had to be the one to snap at him, was enough to weaken his self-anger. "How.. I don't have any.. cards.. left." His eyes swept across the field and stopped in front of Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon. "Do any of you have a card that can destroy other cards." There was one last very thin hope. "Huh? Uhm yeah.. I do." Without thinking Eric controlled his spell card: Offerings to the Doomed. "But on what can I use it?" Even now, nothing on Margot's field could be targeted by his equip trap. "On Absolute Dragon. If its destroyed, I can summon an Odd-Eyes monster from my extra deck. Do it!" It all depended on this. "Okay! Okay!" Eric paid 500 lifepoints and activated Offerings. The XYZ-monster was buried by the Doomed, so Uno could activate one last effect.

Eric's LP: 950

"I summon Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!" One was already lost to Odd-Eyes Fusion. But Uno could create another, a second XYZ-dragon of destruction(7/3000/2500) emerged from the extra deck. "Wait a second Uno. If you attack now." A sixth attack was secured.. an attack with the same cost as the others. "I know Eric. If I attack her now.. she will use Dark Sanctuary to reflect me and take away my last few lifepoints." Uno breathed in deeply. "But at least she will lose the 500 lifepoints." It had to be done. "NO!" Alice didn't want it. "You're going to leave us? You're.. what's the point in stopping her if we can't save you too!?" She pleaded with him, tried to get closer to him. "I already made up my mind, Alice. You can't save me.." Clausolas could only use its effect once per turn and Alice did not have any other protective cards on her field. "I can stop you!" She hovered her hand over graveyard. "If I use Clear Kuriboh.." There was a chance to stop an attack, with the effect of Clear Kuriboh. But it would take a lucky draw. Even then, Alice was willing to risk it all.

"That's not the answer and you know it, Alice!" Uno shouted back at her. "If we can't stop this.. if I can't save this world. Everything I did will be for nothing! I brought this upon us. At least now I can answer for it." Uno turned to Adamant and Eric. "Let me do this." Eric was too stunned to speak. Adamant only gave him a silent nod. "...I will do this." Uno turned to Margot next, staring her right in the eye. "I will never know what you wanted from me, from us. But I am fine with that. I am fine with ending my story here and now. Are you?" He clenched his hand. "Ready or not!" Alice held her hands in front of her mouth. "Here, I, come! Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon.. attack directly!" The black dragon took to the air. I never got anywhere near the enemy. She made her last payment, as the Dark Sanctuary activated and struck the XYZ-monster.

Margot's LP: 450

"I activate Rebellion!" That was when Adamant revealed his choice. "What? Adamant? NO!" Rebellion took control of Uno's Rebellion Dragon in the middle of the battle phase. "Margot, I have an offering! I know you want Uno to live, I know you want me to be returned to my true state! I do not know if the rules would exclude this. You can make an exception." Before the Sanctuary ghost exited the XYZ-card, it landed in front of Adamant. "Spare him and take me!" It did not matter anymore what could be done, what should have been done, and what was yet to be done. "..." The eldest sister's word was final, and she uttered it to only the dead. "Thank you." Adamant could hear her. "Adamant!" The others cried.. in vain. The spirit left Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon.. and cut through Adamant's body. "ADAMANT!"

Adamant's LP: 0

(To be Continued in Redux 01: Singularity)

 **New Cards used by Eric Stonewell  
** Fire Cracker

-  
Offerings to the Doomed

 **New Cards used by Adamant**  
Raidraptor - Necro Vulture

-  
Cattle Call

 **New Cards used by Alice Brandt**  
Clear Kuriboh

-  
Forbidden Lance

 **New Cards used by Uno Nisell**  
Dragoncaller Magician  
Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon

-  
Odd-Eyes Advent

 **Cards used by Margot**  
 _Spirit Message "_"_  
Spirit Message "N"  
Spirit Message "A"  
 _Souls for the Soulless_

-  
 _Destiny's Twine  
Butterfly Effect_


	79. Singularity

**Redux 01: Singularity**

Margot's LP: 450

Eric's LP: 950 Alice's LP: 950 Uno's LP: 50

Adamant's LP: 0

"Adamant!" Everything went as he planned it, as he wanted it. "No!" The ghost of the sanctuary surged through his body and sucked the life out of him. One second he stood, the next he fell. "Damnit!" For him the duel came to an end, but only for him. For them there was still one step to make. "You!" The fight was already decided however. Through all the sacrifices, the enemy lost all but 450 of her lifepoints. Margot could not activate any card or effect, while the Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon(7/2800/2500) plagued the field. Destiny Board would freeze at three Spirit Messages. The last letter could not be spelled. All they needed to do now was wait for Eric's turn to start. "What are you doing?" He was not even given the satisfaction of personally defeating her with a direct attack. Margot started her turn and slammed her book shut. The pages on the field burned to ash and the sanctuary of darkness eroded to dust. The duelists, living or dying, returned to the royal garden of Millennium. "She gave up?" They had won..

Margot's LP: 0

"Adamant!" Uno and Alice both rushed to the XYZ-duelist's side. "You're okay. You're okay!" Alice cried as she held his hand. There was some life to him left. "No.. I am not." But he could tell, and so could Uno. He was fading fast. "Ah!" Even Alice faced the truth. "Your.." When the wound from before returned. Kyle's scar appeared on his chest. "But we can fix it! We can.." It was happening all over again; the pain, the despair and the hopelessness. "Uno?" Uno shook his head. No matter how many times she asked him too, no matter how much he wanted too. There was nothing he could do to save Adamant. "I can tell.. you want to ask me why I did this." Adamant smiled wryly in spite of his failing body. "It had to be this way. Your sister gave me some extra time, but I could not cheat death forever. I could not cheat my destiny forever. It was already.. fulfilled." Now he even began to chuckle. "I suppose that is why.. I felt like I could understand you." His head rolled back so he could look at Margot. "You are the reaper, and you have come for me."

"He's crazy..this is crazy." Eric could not believe this, it had to be a dream. "all.. gone.. All gone" Alice could not look away, could only sob and repeat herself. "Adamant. You did not deserve this!" Uno could not accept this, it should have been him. "I do.. Uno. I was a fool." Adamant coughed. "I thought I could be the one the future needed. I thought I was shaping my own world. I did not realize.. I was a pan.. until it was too late. At least now.. I got to do something with my life, what little.. there was." His body started to convulse. "Ghuhahaa.. Don't.." The duelist forced himself through the pain, clenching his teeth. "Uno.. Alice.. Eric.. you can change..the... Do not be the pawn. Don't let others.. use you. The sisters are.. not what they seem.. There is no one... destiny. There is only..."

"...Adamant?" The words trailed off. "Adamant!?" The body stopped moving, the light vanished from his eyes. "He's.." Silence. Not a sound could be heard, there was no time. Adamant Waitley was no more.

"Why." Eric did not get to know him well. Nonetheless he felt a hole form in his heart, for Adamant and for others. Eric did not speak, he did not feel it would be right. "Why?" Alice spent more time with him than most. The emptyness inside of her was greater, more painful. Alice did not speak, she was paralyzed.. Her hands touched her face but nothing came out of her. "WHY!?" Uno spoke. He yelled, shouted, screamed. "Why did this have to.. why did any of this happen?! Why are we here? Why are you here!? Why!?" Anger filled him, an anger that could only be directed at the face of the future. "Say something!" Margot only stared. Not at them.. at the book in her hands. "Stop reading your book! Stop ignoring what is going on right in front of you! Stop ignoring me!" He lost control and took a swing at the sister. "What!?" He missed. She was right in front of him, yet he missed. It was as if she was standing just out of his reach even though the distance did not visibly change. "Adamant.. what did he hear? Why aren't you what you seem? Why do the time guardians fear you!? We defeated you, so we deserve some answers!"

"You have a point." The second of three. "You did survive the final message.. Well, some of you did." and the youngest of three; the trinity was complete. "You.. You are the other two?" A woman in a black dress with prom-styled hair, a girl with red eyes and white hair; these two who appeared out of nowhere had to be Margot's sisters. "A bit of a confusing question. But I can work with it, if you want me too." Veronica and Cloe joined their sisters side. "What? No! I didn't want to ask that! Argh.." Eric held his hand in front of his mouth. "The first time can be confusing. You can ask three questions total. You can give your questions to me, Cloe or Margot. That means you can ask us about the present, past or future. Hopefully this helps you get started." Veronica held out her hands. "I can ask anything... About where everyone else is? How we get back? What Tempus wants and how we can get back?" The offer was tempting, Eric quickly realized. "Anything you want, you name it. We know every answer. So, what will be the first?"

"No." Uno's response came, loudly and clearly. "No? That's not a question.. Fortuno." Both Eric and Veronica reacted with surprise. "No. No I will not play your game." He pointed a finger at them. "They're trying to get us to waste our time. I know what my father wants already, to bring down the true guardians of time. It's what I tried to do in his place. I know where my friends are. Iria, Dom, Zach, your mother, Alice's father; they should all be back home inside the fusion guild's tower. Tory and Stonewell are here in the palace, in the past. December, Ana, the travelers.. they should be on the island. I know where to find them and how we would get to them. That was already part of all of this, Margot would send us back. But to have that kind of power.. you have to be more than just spirits who've lived for a thousand timelines. I asked you before, what you truly were.. and you only gave me half of the truth." There was still some rage inside of him, but he came to enough of his senses to realize that there was something very wrong here. "If they dont want us to ask them questions. Why let us?" Eric failed to get any of this, it was all so strange. "Because they have to. There are rules, aren't there? Rules even you cannot break."

"Is that why.." Another thought occured to him, as his eyes briefly made contact with his dueldisk. It was something he should have considered sooner. "Is that why you were helping me? So you could help Tempus?" He already knew the sisters met Tempus before, they even talked to Marco once. "He said.. that my connection with the spirits tied to him as well. Every time I created a new monster because of you, he grew stronger! Is that what you want? For Tempus to take down the guardians? Why? Why do you need him? Why do you even exist? Why do they exist? Are you the same as them? Or are you something else?" There were still too many mysteries, still too little he understood. his own memories could not even clear it up. "Two. That counts as two questions." Veronica clapped her hands. "It's very simple, Fortuno." She began. "Stop calling me that!"

"Ah. See there is the problem, you are Uno. Not Fortuno. But more on that later.." Veronica dismissively waved her hand and pointed to the sky. "The Qliphort and us, we share a common bond. We are the same in a way, we both control a section of time and space while existing outside of it. If you call it a timeline.. we call it a time lake." Far above the guardians still roamed, unable to continue their work. "But angels can take many forms. And one cannot harm the other, the guardians erase what needs to be erased. But we determine when something begins, or ends. Margot's mercy to you is the only reason the destruction of this world is currently not 'a thing'." The middle sister placed her hand in front of her mouth and allowed Cloe to take over. "In days of old, we received clients regularly. Then the world was flooded with magic, empowered souls of man and spirit who could see and hear us. They came to us for answers buried in times they failed to access, and we gave them. But we were created not to interfere directly, and deeply. That is why we could only give out three answers each time."

"I still do not have mine. Why did you do it? Why let me see you? And.." Uno looked at Alice again. She was kneeling before Adamant's body, speechless. "Why her too?" If she could not respond, he would solve these matters for her. "Because she saw us." Cloe skipped over to the site of the broken tree. "Because you saw us." The colorless girl bit her finger until she drew blood and planted it on the soil. Within minutes a new tree grew from the ashes of the old. Or rather, the old tree reversed its own incineration. "!?" This got a reaction out of the crestfallen Alice. "You can.. do that?" The rest of the garden also slowly regained its green luster. "Once you left your own dimension, your own existence, you gained a connection to the powers beyond. That is how you found us underneath a tree.. A memory of a world long gone could only be discovered by those who gave ot value Alice Brandt.. Christopher Fortuno Nisell: we saw where your paths led and we knew where you wanted or needed to go. Each time you reached a dead end, we pulled you out."

"But if you can.. go any where you want. Can't you.. bring Adamant back too?" Alice saw what they did to the tree. Why couldn't it be as simple with Adamant? "All of what you see here does and does not exist simultaneously. It is the absence of 'now'. As long as no new timeline flows and no old space purges, time remains in stasis. That is why we can bring it back." By now all of the Qliphorts damage had been reversed. "But.. Adamant died before, in a past that existed. Our sister merely collected his due." Cloe claimed as she dusted off her bloody hand. "We cannot change what already happened. But we can show you. We can tell you all about your past, both your pasts.. Alice." Veronica said with a warm inviting tone. "Stop." Uno growled. "You will not tempt us. You tried that before. Once we have our answers, you will send us back to our own time. That was the deal. I do not care how many years it takes. I will go back and fix all of this, so this moment never happens in the first place!"

"Oh. Little mistake there, Uno." Veronica giggled. "What? What is it?" He snapped at them. "You presumed this end of time to take place four years from now. The time you skipped only amounts to four days."

"WHAT?" Uno recoiled. "Four.. days?" Alice stammered. It felt like a claw had grabbed her heart and crushed it. "That's not.. yo! That can't be right! How? Why so soon?!" Eric shouted. If this was to be the third question, so be it. "Tempus.." Uno could answer that for himself though. "He must have accelerated the decay somehow. Tempus wanted the guardians out of the picture. The last time I tried to do it myself, I challenged them outside of time.. in limbo. Does he think it will be different for him? But normally the Qliphort will only show up after you abandon one timeline." He flinched. "Ana.. she created the second timeline.. a dimension that would selfdestruct on its own. She did not know that that would happen.. but maybe.. He did." Could it have been possible? Could Tempus have foreseen every action of his heirs so perfectly, that he planned all of this out? He prepared for the possibility of a split timeline. He gave December and the others their pendulums and started a wild-goose chase across time between them and his family? When did Tempus fake his own death and why? Was it before or after December came into play? Was all of this just a long con to weaken the Qliphort?

"Did you help him with that? Did you tell him how to get to where he needed to be? What is in this for you?" Uno came back to his second question. "Oh it just so happens that Tempus' goals align with ours. We.." Veronica placed her hand around her neck. "wish to be free." She pulled her hand away and laughed. "Free? Free from what?" To Eric these ladies looked about as free as a being could possibly be. "You would not understand. Not when you refused to understand what Tempus hoped to achieve." Cloe scoffed. "Are you saying I should have stepped back in line? Or were you trying to get me to turn back into Fortuno? That's not going to happen anymore... Tempus is insane! He wants to be defeat the guardians so what.. he can become the new guardian of time? So he can become a god? Does he really think that? I.." Uno caught himself in the middle of his outburst. "I know.. I tried the same thing. I tried so many things, and each time someone else has to pay for it. No more. Cassius was right.. the pendulum should never have been made."

"Unfortunately, once you make something so powerful. It can never go away. The pendulum is not the only creation your world regrets. Gods and Numbers: Orichalcos and Millennium. There are more horrors in our library than you can imagine as you are now." The sister of the present smugly claimed. "The man you were knew those horrors so well, and now you introduced them to others like Dame Phoebe and Ichirou. Magic has returned to the world, to one world. Perhaps you should have focused on that world first before you crafted thoughts about the other." The sister of the past accused him fiercely. The sister of the future said nothing. She was flipping through the pages of her book in backwards order. "Was that all? Uno? Eric? Alice?" Cloe inquired. "Was it?" Eric forgot to keep track of how many questions they covered. "Even if it was, I doubt they gave us the whole truth." Uno was not about to start trusting their words now. "Just tell us this. Where will you send us?"

"Oh that is up to you." Veronica said, diretcing her finger towards Martels puppet. "You already have the mode of transport. We merely provide the road. You can go anywhere in between the time of your banishment and the time of the world's end. But you can only go once, after that you will become a part of regular time again. And I advise you to stay out of this world." She stressed. "What? Why!?" Alice yelled back. "You only have four days to stop the guardians from coming. Right now your world is spared, but if a connection is open.. like say a gateway.. then the purge will spill into both timelines. Normally I cannot talk like this, but as that future is this present.. I can safely promise you. This will happen. Just try to prevent a paradox, okay? We will keep this world in lockdown until then. If you succeed, it can start moving again. If not, then the second chance you and Adamant secured.. will go to waste." Once she was done talking, the crystal of the puppet lit up. It was ready to move. "We will succeed.. sisters." Uno glared at the prophetic trio. Whatever it was that they and Tempus were up too, he would stop it. "Eric, Alice. We have to go."

"Ah.." Alice shuddered. "Do we have to go.. now?" She found it difficult to leave Adamant's side. "Not really. There is no time here after all." Veronica chuckled. "Alice? What are you saying?" Eric on the other hand was ready to leave this mad place. "If I could.. see them again.. hear them again. Just once.." Her hand stretched out towards the tree, towards all of what the sisters were offering. "You mean.. Adamant? Or ..." She could probably see her own parents, her real parents. "Alice. It.. wont be real. You might not be able to let go." If Uno was honest to himself, he would have had the same desire. He might have let her stay, if only to make her happy. But this was a one-time trip, he could not leave her here. And he definitely would not leave her alone with these three. "Alice. We can go back to our own home now. Finally!" Eric was there too, trying to reach her with perhaps a little too much excitement. "You still have.. Emily is waiting for you. Her family.. your family."

"I.." Nevertheless, he got through to her, seemingly. "I know." Alice let her arm fall. "I'm.." Uno then placed his hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to say anything." He picked up the crystal-eyed doll. "What is done is done. Let's.." This would be the first time he made an attempt at timetravel. He knew where he wanted to be. "Go." The blink of an eye, and they were gone. Colors, light, darkness; he soared through all of it. A thousand eyes and a million voices passed him by while the sensation of flying, swimming and running possessed his body all at once. There was no better way to describe it. Not even his memories could have made him ready for this.. exhileration. It took longer than he expected too. Long enough to form a coherent thought about the journey as it was underway. Were Eric and Alice with him? He did not feel alone, but it was hard to feel anything besides yourself at a timeless.. time like this.

"Gahahaah!"

Uno stepped on solid ground. "Whoa..ahaha..ahaha! I.." His heart needed a few minutes to catch up with the rest of him, and with this new world. "I did it! Yes!" Uno threw his fist into the air. He felt more alive then ever before. "Guys! We made it!" For once he could look up to the clouds and not spot a single templar. This was definitely not the world the Nisells forged. "Wha.." Not that it looked much better here. "Oh. That's right.. the guilds barrier." Instead of skies painted purple by the city's strange lights, there were skies colored oddly behind a curtain of energy. The country was still trapped behind the XYZ-guild's forcefield generators. Uno was gone for only a few weeks, which was apparently not enough time for this world's leaders to resolve the crisis. "The sisters had a point. I should have focused more on this world. But that will change now.. We.."

"Guys?" There was no we, there was just him. "What? Eric? Alice? No!" He lost them! Somewhere in the timewarp, they fell out! "Where.. where are you?" They weren't anywhere near. He was alone on top of a grassy hill, the same grassy hill he started out on. Alice's hometown was just up the road. "Nononono! I have to.. I.. where are they?" He still held the puppet. "Stupid. You were stupid, Uno! Using someone else's pendulum when you can barely control your own! Why.. where did this one come from anyway?" If he could use it, then he could go to wherever his friends were. That's how it always worked before! He just had to focus on it. "Ngah!" He got flashes, glimpses of scenes with Alice and Eric in them. Alice was in a park.. near.. the tree? Eric was inside some kind of dungeon.. and.. August was there too? Why him? They were alive at least, but what did any of this mean. "Damnit!" The flashes were all he got out of that. "How am I supposed to..." Where could he even start? He was alone. "Four days.." And he did not have much time to figure any of this out. "I.." He took a step on the road. "I will succeed. I have to."

Every road started somewhere. His might as well begin where it began twice before. And this.. "This Is the last time.."

(To be Concluded in The Rise and Fall of History Part III)


	80. Intermission

**Intermission: Annex 090.5**

"It's a good thing we didn't strip this place bare." Said Marie Celeste as she did an inventary on a place that did not use to be hers; the castle headquarters of the synchro guild. "Your men might have robbed of us a good fallback. Which we will need now that you lost your portal and our pendulum user." The most important asset within this compound was located at the lowest level. She and several associates were heading there last. "I should remind you that you were there too, when that happened. It was your decision to retreat." Ichirou was for once without praise for his partner, as the losses his guild incurred were not slight. "How was I supposed to know those abnormalities would show up?" December and January kicked her out of her own tower, destroyed all her equipment. Every guild fighter that tried to stop them only got beaten down. "Besides, I did not hear you offering a counterproposal. Well it wont matter once we finish the tests. The Cubics might have gone wild, but we have plenty of other powers to try. Soon we'll be able to reclaim the gate.. and my world."

"So you still wish to return?" The XYZ-duelist chuckled. "Of course! This outdated world might be your home, but I'd rather die than spend another week here. At least the Circle has tech that almost makes up for what we lost." The two walked into the elevator and rode it all the way down. "But can you use it? Can you use their portal?" Down there they would find Vesper's control room, and her version of the timeline-crossover machine."There is nothing I cannot get into. Especially when I got a good look into their more advanced systems anyway." Marie tapped the side of her visor. "Soon I'll have all the data I need to make it work." She needed just a few more minutes to transfer all their data to her network. "Well, even if that wouldn't work. We could request the assistance of the synchro guild. A few of their members should still be roaming out there. We could ask half of Vesper.. or Cassius." Ichirou smirked as he produced the card with Aarons face on it; his soul card. "The last thing we need is to reverse the digitalization process. Just consider yourself lucky that you don't have a counterpart in the other world, Ichirou. Or else we would have required you to.."

"Wait. No that can't be right." Marie stuttered as she read an incoming message on her dueldisk. "What the heck?" Her visor confirmed the data. "A problem?" Ichirou inquired. "According to the latest calculations of this base's mainframe, the dimensional matrices have been growing out of alignment and are becoming unstable!" She yelled. "That sounds less than optimal." Ichirou assumed. "That's putting it mildly! These are the same signs that the Circle detected, but theye weren't as strong then! The only way this makes sense is if the decay of the other worlds has been accelerated!" That explanation Ichirou could understand. "Is there a chance that the readings could be wrong?" And he was getting worried too now. "No. This is not a malfunction and its certainly not a coincidence. At this rate we're going to have to finish the superfusion project in a week! And that's based of the most positive projections!" The guilds did not even have full control of this country yet, let alone the whole world. "But if it is just the other world, wouldn't it be better to give up on it? We can still rule this world." Ichirou did not hear anything about dangers to this timeline. "I told you already I wont.."

The elevator stopped, they arrived at the lowest level. "What?" But they weren't the first ones to arrive. As soon as the doors opened, they realized someone was there. "Are we having difficulties?" The woman asked with a strangely uneven pitch. "That.. it can't be.." Ichirou involuntarily trembled when he heard that voice. "D..Dame Phoebe? You survived?" Marie shook her head. There in front of them sitting in Vesper's old chair, was the old leader of the fusion guild. Blue paint ran down the right side of her face, staining the white of her dress. Both eyes glowed a deep red. "I did, MC. And I am feeling better than ever!" She spun a card underneath hwer finger: Starve Venom Fusion Dragon. "And it looks like we need to pick up the pace, and start bringing our power to the globe! I say we start.. right now! Aha..heeheeh.. ahahah!"


End file.
